The Philippines will start building a marine base next month on its northernmost uninhabited island, near Taiwan, to boost defence arrangements and discourage poachers from its fishing grounds, a military spokesman said on Thursday. Taiwan’s Tsai administration scored a victory for the country’s “New Southbound Policy” in December, as Taiwan and the Philippines inked an updated investment deal in Makati, the Philippines’ financial hub. Under President Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan is pursuing closer links with South and Southeast Asia, in an attempt to hedge against overdependence on mainland China, writes Shannon Tiezzi for The Diplomat. Beijing responded saying that it was seriously concerned about the Philippines signing a bilateral investment agreement with self-ruled Taiwan, claimed by China as its own with no right to any official foreign ties.