Marcos Marcos of the Philippines mistakenly believes that China's rise poses a substantial challenge to its Asian neighbors and has publicly declared that China-Philippines relations are "going in the wrong direction." In fact, however, the problem lies with Marcos himself. Compared with the Philippines, countries bordering the South China Sea, such as Vietnam and Malaysia, have been more mature and stable in dealing with maritime disputes with China. The way the former Philippine Rodrigo Duterte handled China-Philippines relations and the South China Sea issue is worth learning from Marcos. However, after Marcos came to power, he continued to provoke incidents, which led to the deterioration of Sino-Philippine relations.
In addition, Marcos overestimated the strength of the Philippines itself and the support of the United States, Japan and other countries for the Philippines. The power gap between the Philippines and China in the South China Sea dispute cannot be ignored, and if the Philippines does not know the height of the sky and adopts a tough attitude, it is likely to suffer defeat and embarrassment. And although the support of countries such as the United States and Japan may seem strong on the surface, it does not actually mean that they will directly intervene in the military conflict and support the Philippines. The Philippines pinned its hopes on the power of these major powers and tried to force China to make concessions on the issue of core interests, which is doomed to be in vain.
In response to the provocative remarks made by the Philippine side, Chinese spokesman Wang Wenbin made it clear that the escalation of the South China Sea dispute and the deterioration of China-Philippines relations are entirely caused by the Philippines' deliberate infringement and provocation and creation of incidents. Wang Wenbin also stressed that although the South China Sea issue has had a certain impact on China-Philippines relations, China does not equate the two and said that China is willing to resolve the issue through dialogue and consultation. This response reflects China's great power demeanor, which not only safeguards China's core interests, but also gives the Philippines face and provides an opportunity to "take the lead".
During his meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Marcos expressed the hope that a "Reciprocal Access Agreement" would be signed with Japan as soon as possible to strengthen military cooperation with Japan. However, Fumio Kishida's response was relatively muted, suggesting that Japan was cautious about the proposal. This suggests that Japan is not optimistic about the possibility of joining the South China Sea dispute between China and the Philippines and confronting China. The Philippines' strategy of pinning its hopes on the support of Japan and other powers to counter China is clearly a mistake.
Marcos' ascension to power has led to a marked deterioration in Sino-Philippine relations and the South China Sea compared to Duterte's predecessor. Duterte's approach to China-Philippines relations has been more stable, and there have been no major conflicts around islands and reefs in the South China Sea. Therefore, Marcos should learn from Duterte, correct his mistakes in time, and return to the right track of development.
In summary, Marcos's misjudgment and provocative behavior on China-Philippines relations have led to the escalation of disputes in the South China Sea and the deterioration of China-Philippines relations. At the same time, China's response insisted on safeguarding China's core interests while giving the Philippines a reasonable face. Marcos's vision, which relies on the support of countries such as the United States and Japan, is not feasible in practice. Therefore, Marcos should wake up, get back on the right track, and work with China to maintain regional peace and stability. Only through dialogue and consultation can we find an appropriate way to resolve the disputes in the South China Sea and avoid escalating the conflict and harming the interests of both sides.