Recently, the United States and the Philippines conducted so-called joint military patrols in the hot waters of the South China Sea, while the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) also carried out frequent operations in the South China Sea, according to a report by Reference News Network. It is clear that the Philippines, pushed by the United States, is once again challenged, leading to further escalation of tensions.
U.S.-Philippine military operations in the South China Sea have heightened tensions).
However, there are also rifts within the Philippines at the moment. An unprecedented conflict has erupted between the Marcos family and the pro-China Duterte family. In the Philippines in 2022, the two families joined forces, allowing Marcos to succeed Duterte as **, and Duterte's daughter Sara as the vice-president. However, at present, Marcos is trying to consolidate his position, and the two sides are beginning to openly tear their faces, and the contradictions have reached the point of triggering.
According to a report in the Philippines**, Marcos has recently asked Duterte to come forward for face-to-face talks to clarify the current internal disputes in the Philippines. There are rumors that some Filipino military personnel are being "incited" in some way, leading to instability within the Philippine military and potentially triggering even greater unrest. At the same time, information points to a former Philippine senator who has pointed the finger at Duterte, questioning the actions of Duterte's allies.
Marcos has been in a formal confrontation with Duterte since last year. In the meantime, De Lima, a former senator who had been imprisoned during Duterte's administration, was released last November. She makes a veiled satire of Duterte in the form of "thanks to Marcos for respecting the rule of law," while she herself has investigated Duterte's "war on drugs."
At the same time, the former ** Arroyo of the Philippines lost his position as senior deputy speaker of the House of Representatives. Arroyo, a former Duterte ally, has tried to remove Speaker Romualaz. However, since Romualaz is an ally of Marcos, his removal would mean a weakening of Marcos' power and would be easier to face. In the process, Philippine deputy Sara also faced a controversy over "confidential funds" and was attacked by Marcos's allies, forcing Duterte to hint that he might make a comeback.
Although the Marcos and Duterte families were once allied, their diplomatic positions are now very different. Marcos is clearly leaning towards the ** route, while Duterte is on a pro-China route. During Duterte's administration, the Philippines gained some benefits from friendly relations between China and the Philippines, which were able to resolve problems through dialogue. However, Marcos is now clearly constrained by the United States, leading to tensions. There is an opinion that it was with the support of the United States that Marcos launched the "battle" against the Duterte family.
Because there is a fairly real problem at the moment, which is that although Marcos's approval rating is high, Sarah's approval rating is even more prominent. According to a survey in December, the approval ratings of both were 68% and 74%, respectively, and it is clear that Sara is more popular than Marcos. It also raises the question of what will happen to Marcos' term, which ends in 2028Although Sara has said that she is not interested in either the deputy ** and ** positions, the fact is that she is currently holding the position of deputy **. The broad support of the Duterte family means that the Philippines is likely to take a pro-China political line in the future.
In fact, Sarah's approval rating is higher than Marcos's, a clear indication that Filipinos want to improve relations with China. Maintain closeness with the United States, in addition to bringing a variety of superficial"Beat chicken blood"In addition to the effect, it has not brought substantial benefits to the Philippines. Only the improvement and development of Sino-Philippine relations can truly bring tangible benefits to the Philippines.