Marcos presented China with a "gift for the Year of the Dragon", and China and the Philippines reached an agreement on this issue.
After eight sessions of talks, China and the Philippines finally reached an agreement on the issue of control over the island. However, the Philippines has wavered in its stance on the South China Sea, sometimes saying that it wants to maintain active cooperation with China, and sometimes making provocative moves. However, recently, Marcos and his ** in the Philippines seem to want to give China a "gift for the Year of the Dragon" to express their goodwill towards China. The Acting Foreign Secretary of the Philippines attended the Spring Festival Gala of the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines and read out Marcos' congratulatory message, saying that he attaches great importance to China and hopes to cooperate with China. The move sparked speculation about a dramatic change in Mr. Marcos' views.
However, it is not only China's hardline attitude that has changed the Philippines, but also CCTV's special report on "Ren'ai Jiao" that exposed the disloyalty of the Philippines. In fact, an important factor in the transition of the Marcos regime was a political crisis in the Philippines. Marcos was elected with the help of his predecessor Duterte. But Duterte did not expect that after taking office, Mr. Marcos would behave in a very different way from his pro-China policy, and he would also try to betray Duterte's family. Now that Duterte's family is getting stronger and stronger, even Marcos is in danger of being expelled, which is too big a blow to Marcos. So what Marcos needs to do now is to stabilize the domestic political situation, especially the conflict with the Duterte family. If they don't, other political parties in the Philippines may take steps to make things even more tricky.
The attitude of the Philippines is not enough to satisfy China, and we should look at what the Philippines actually does on the South China Sea issue. Marcos' past instability has taken a heavy toll on their credibility. So China has to get the Philippines to come up with its own stuff. Of course, I think both China and the Philippines are well aware of the details.
On the causes and internal dilemmas of the Philippines' friendly attitude.
There are two reasons why the Philippines is so friendly to China. First of all, China has taken a more resolute attitude towards the South China Sea issue and resolutely defended China's legitimate rights. CCTV also produced a series of special columns to introduce the development of the Filipino Aijiao Island, as well as China's sovereignty claims over the island, exposing its disloyal behavior. This is the Philippines' last step and shows that China is becoming increasingly impatient with the South China Sea. Second, as the political crisis in the Philippines intensifies, Marcos** is likely to be ousted, or even deposed. He must stabilize the situation at home and avoid instability in other political families. To this end, Marcos chose to show goodwill to China in order to obtain more support and reduce the pressure on the outside world to deal with the difficulties at home.
The intention of the Philippines to send a friendly signal is clear. They want to work with China to advance the Philippines. China is an important economic and trade partner of the Philippines, and ethnic Chinese occupy a pivotal position in the social life of the Philippines and play a pivotal role in the development process of the Philippines. China hopes to continue friendly cooperation with the Philippines on the South China Sea issue in order to maintain regional peace and stability. In this context, the Philippines has expressed a friendly gesture toward China and hopes to resolve the existing disputes through the joint efforts of both sides, so as to find an effective way to resolve the South China Sea issue.
Problems and prospects.
Although the Philippines' friendly attitude towards China has recently attracted widespread attention and discussion, it remains to be seen whether its sincere and practical actions will be reciprocated. First of all, China must see that the Philippines** can take concrete actions to fulfill its previous pledges, and show its sincerity and firm will. Second, the Philippines is still facing a serious political crisis, and Mr. Marcos must stabilize the situation before it becomes more unrestful. As long as the political situation is stable, there will be no effective solution to the South China Sea issue.
China has always advocated the settlement of disputes through consultation on the South China Sea issue and is willing to work with all parties concerned to maintain peace and stability in the region. China should be vigilant and cautiously evaluate the friendly attitude of the Philippines**. If the Philippines** had been sincere and had taken practical measures, people would have seen that what they were doing was not just a verbal promise, but that they were making a real difference. China and the Philippines should continue consultations and make joint efforts on the South China Sea issue to contribute to peace and stability in the region.