Philippine President Marcos stated: The Philippine economy needs help and cooperation from China, but the South China Sea dispute cannot be abandoned; therefore, economic cooperation and territorial disputes must be kept separate!
This may well be the ideal of Philippine President Marcos: on one hand, talking about China's need for economic assistance from the Philippines, while on the other hand insisting on confronting China over South China Sea issues—this is exactly how the Philippines currently engages with China!
While the United States is embroiled in war in the Middle East, it has brought an energy crisis to the Philippines. At this moment, the Philippines turned to China—China, as a major power in both energy and economic development, is seen as a crucial partner. Thus, the Philippines has proposed that China sell fertilizers to the Philippines without raising prices, ensuring the country’s agricultural development, while also preparing to resume cooperation on offshore oil and gas exploration with China—thereby securing its own energy future! This is the fundamental reason behind the Philippines’ proactive engagement with China.
However, regarding the South China Sea, the Philippines has increasingly intensified activities in contested waters. On March 25, the Chinese Navy’s ship No. 532 conducted routine patrols near the jurisdictional waters surrounding Zhubei Reef in China’s Nansha Islands. Upon detecting the Philippine vessel, Chinese forces issued repeated verbal warnings. Despite these repeated warnings, the Philippine ship No. 507 deliberately adjusted its course continuously to the right, approaching the Chinese ship No. 532 dangerously and disrupting its normal patrol operations.
This clearly demonstrates that the Philippines’ provocations at sea have never ceased, nor do they genuinely seek resolution of the South China Sea issue—they are instead attempting to gain support from China while continuing to provoke it.
Perhaps the Philippines is secretly laughing, believing that only China is so naive as to keep supporting its economic development, thereby enabling the Philippines to accumulate more wealth to buy weapons and continue provoking China. The Philippines might even be mocking China’s patience!
Nevertheless, if the Philippines lacks genuine intent to cooperate and maintain friendly relations with China, and continues to collude with the U.S. and Japan in an attempt to disrupt peace in the South China Sea, then any cooperation can be immediately terminated at any time. For the Philippines, such a move would be like falling into an abyss—deeply painful. The initiative and control over Sino-Philippine cooperation lies firmly in China’s hands. We need not fear or worry at all. Let us respond in kind: you act on the first day, we’ll respond on the fifteenth—make you suffer without letting you fully enjoy the benefits. That is true suffering. But if the Philippines persists down this path, the entire world will see clearly who the real troublemaker is!
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1861081062987787/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.