According to Philippine reports, former Philippine Duterte held a "late-night press conference" in Davao City, where he continued to criticize Marcos' "constitutional amendment plan" and announced his support for the "Mindanao independence movement". Duterte plans to use a "referendum" to collect signatures to decide whether Mindanao will stay or not. North Davao State Rep. Alvarez also expressed support for the campaign and believes that the Philippines will bring more benefits. Alvarez gave the example of Singapore, saying that even a small country with few resources can develop independently. Mindanao has an area of about 9With a population of more than 27 million square kilometers and 50,000 square kilometers, it has vast forests and abundant timber and rubber resources. After independence, Mindanao will not need to share these resources with Manila. The news of Mindanao's independence was rumored as early as last year, but at that time, Philippine deputy ** Sara was caught in a storm and failed to attract widespread attention.
Now, with Duterte's support, the independence movement is back on the rise, highlighting the deepening tensions in the Philippines. Mindanao is the "home base" of the Duterte family, and his son, Sebastian, is the mayor of Davao City and has recently publicly criticized Marcos. This exacerbated the rift between the two families. Marcos had a cooperation agreement with the Duterte family during his campaign for the Philippines, but after taking office, Marcos acted too aggressively and tore up the "gentleman's agreement" between the two sides. At the heart of the current conflict is the issue of constitutional amendments, with Marcos hoping to attract foreign investment and Duterte's supporters arguing that he is trying to prolong his stay in power. However, the Philippines will hold midterm elections in 2025, which will also be a crucial moment for the two families to compete for power in the country. In his New Year's speech, Marcos expressed his cherishing of the friendship between China and the Philippines and emphasized the affection and friendship between the two peoples.
This statement can be seen as a way for Marcos to send a peace signal to China, hoping to ease the impact of the South China Sea issue on relations between the two countries and focus on solving domestic problems. Marcos realized that his career would be severely undermined if domestic problems could not be resolved, so he needed to resolve domestic contradictions before dealing with foreign affairs. Marcos**'s gesture also shows that the Philippines cannot afford the cost of deteriorating relations between the two countries. Marcos Marcos of the Philippines delivered a New Year's speech, emphasizing the importance of China-Philippines friendship. He said that the Philippines attaches great importance to friendly relations with China and hopes to ease the tension between the two countries through family affection and friendship. Marcos** recognized that solving domestic problems was the top priority of his administration, and that only domestic stability could guarantee the country's development and the well-being of its people. As a result, he hopes to work with China to resolve the South China Sea issue and focus on pushing for internal reforms in the Philippines.
Marcos**'s statement shows that the Philippines is unwilling to let the South China Sea issue affect the friendly relations between the two countries, and hopes to resolve the dispute through dialogue and cooperation. However, the differences between the Philippines and China over the South China Sea cannot be ignored. The South China Sea is an important geopolitical hotspot, involving the territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests of all countries. The Philippines insists on defending its rights and interests in the South China Sea and seeks international arbitration to resolve disputes. China, on the other hand, emphasizes the resolution of disputes through bilateral negotiations and does not accept any international arbitral awards. This disagreement has strained relations between the two countries and brought difficulties to economic cooperation and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries. The resolution of the South China Sea issue requires the joint efforts of all parties and proper handling. The Philippines must maintain dialogue and cooperation with China while safeguarding its own interests. China should also listen to the Philippines' concerns and resolve disputes through dialogue. The two sides should abandon the mentality of conflict and confrontation and resolve disputes peacefully. Only through dialogue and cooperation can a win-win and mutually beneficial situation be achieved.
In addition to the South China Sea issue, the Philippines faces a number of other domestic problems. For example, economic development and poverty are important issues that must be addressed in the Philippines**. The Philippines is a developing country with uneven economic development and a large gap between the rich and the poor. **Measures should be taken to promote economic growth and ensure that economic development benefits all people. In addition, the Philippines faces the threat of terrorism and crime,** and needs to strengthen security measures to protect people's lives and property. Marcos' New Year's speech showed that he attaches great importance to the friendship between China and the Philippines and hopes to resolve the South China Sea issue through friendship and cooperation. Such gestures are very important to ease tensions in relations between the two countries. However, the South China Sea issue is only one of the many challenges facing the Philippines. The Philippines** also needs to actively respond to other domestic issues to promote the country's development and the well-being of its people. It is only by addressing domestic issues that the Philippines can play a greater role in the international arena and achieve sustainable development and prosperity.