Marcos Marcos of the Philippines began his trip to China after the New Year in 2023, which was his first visit to a non-ASEAN country in half a year and his first visit to China as a **. Marcos has a deep historical relationship with China, his father Ferdinand Marcos established diplomatic relations with China in 1975, and he himself accompanied his mother Imelda, the former first lady of the Philippines, in 1974.
However, before Marcos' visit to China, the West played up the "South China Sea issue" in an attempt to create a gap between China and the Philippines. In this regard, the Philippine "Manila Times" issued a timely statement, reminding Marcos to remember three key points during his visit to China, the first of which is to "forget the South China Sea arbitration". The newspaper said that this so-called "arbitration case" was unilaterally initiated by Aquino III under the manipulation of the United States, and the Chinese side has never recognized it and will not accept it. Former Philippine Rodrigo Duterte also said that "the South China Sea arbitration is a piece of waste paper".
The Manila Times is the mainstream of the Philippines and has a deep understanding of Philippine politics and diplomacy, especially how the Philippines balances the relationship between China and the United States, which is the core issue of Philippine diplomacy.
On the one hand, China is the largest partner of the Philippines and a close neighbor of the Philippines, both sides have sovereignty and interests in the South China Sea, and the Philippines cannot do without China's support economicallyOn the other hand, the United States is an old ally of the Philippines, and the Philippine ** military bases are still stationed in the United States, and the Philippines has to rely on the United States for protection.
For the Philippines, both China and the United States are important, but there are many contradictions between China and the United States. In recent years, in order to contain China's rise, the United States has launched the "Indo-Pacific Strategy" and regarded the South China Sea as the front line against China, while the Philippines has become the focus of the United States, and the United States hopes that the Philippines will act as its "pawn" in the South China Sea. Therefore, the Philippines reminded me of the South China Sea issue. It can be said that the three main points raised by the Manila Times are very important and grasp the crux of the matter.
The first one, the so-called "South China Sea Arbitration", was a farce created by King Aquino III at the instigation of the United States, when the Philippines had no diplomatic autonomy and completely obeyed the command of the United States to confront China on the South China Sea issue. This "arbitration" has not been recognized by the Chinese side from the very beginning, nor does it have any legal effect. China has always said that the South China Sea issue can be resolved through negotiations, but it will not accept any interference or conspiracy from external forces. Former Philippine Rodrigo Duterte also understands this, once said, "The South China Sea arbitration is a piece of waste paper".
Second, keep the Philippine military's mouth in check. This shows that the Manila Times has a clear understanding of the South China Sea issue. Because the Philippines is a country with separate military and political affairs, during the last session, Duterte hoped to maintain good relations with both China and the United States, and on the South China Sea issue, he also reached a consensus with China to put aside disputes and cooperate in infrastructure and other fields.
However, the Philippine military colluded with the United States, and then-Defense Secretary Lorenzana often made provocative remarks on the South China Sea issue, and the Philippine military often made small moves in the South China Sea, which brought disharmony to Sino-Philippine relations. Therefore, if Marcos wants to improve relations with China, he must control the words and deeds of the Philippine military, which is a very important matter.
The third is joint development in the South China Sea. Marcos once said that China-Philippines relations should not be hijacked by the "South China Sea issue" and that friendly cooperation between the two sides should not be affected because of this, and he also expressed his willingness to hold friendly consultations with China on the development of resources in the South China Sea. In fact, China also has the same attitude towards the South China Sea issue, and can talk about it, but it will not tolerate any bullying and conspiracy by external forces. Therefore, there is room for cooperation between the two sides on this point.
However, the United States does not want to see friendly cooperation between the Philippines and China in the South China Sea, and it will continue to sabotage behind its back. Only in this way can the Philippines truly be the master.