To defeat Marcos, Sara began to take a different approach, playing the "China card," and criticized Marcos for leaning towards the United States, stating that the Philippines should be friends with China.

Sara

On June 23, according to Bloomberg, Vice President Sara harshly criticized President Marcos's foreign policy in a public speech, accusing him of leaning entirely towards the United States and emphasizing that the Philippines should build a more friendly relationship with China.

According to Sara, the Philippines should be friends with both the United States and China, but Marcos has only achieved one point, which is being a friend of the United States, and even taking negative measures against China for a long time.

Sara's concept of "neutral diplomacy" is largely a continuation of her father Duterte's policies during his presidency. When Duterte became the president of the Philippines, he actively adjusted the previous foreign policy and actively eased relations with China, adopting a more practical approach towards China.

Now, Sara's revival of "balanced diplomacy" serves two purposes: on one hand, it is to continue the family's political legacy and establish her own political image; on the other hand, it is also to attack the Marcos government, specifically using the "China card".

After all, as two key figures in the Philippine political arena, the power struggle between Sara and Marcos has never ceased. In most cases, in the country's political ecosystem, being able to please both sides is common, and obviously, Sara is well aware of this.

It is worth noting that in the Philippine midterm elections, Marcos suffered a political "defeat", not only did the plan to impeach Sara fail, but the Duterte family also successfully won back several important positions.

As Sara's faction gains increasing influence in politics, expressing dissatisfaction with the "pro-US" policy at this time clearly helps consolidate her political position, gather public support, and accumulate capital for future political development.

Notably, Marcos has recently shown some signs of softening in his China policy, which has made Sara alert, and she is determined to seize the opportunity to push further.

Recently, Marcos made an unusual move at an event organized by the Philippine Chinese Association, urging business people from both countries to promote bilateral relations.

Moreover, Marcos has expressed a desire to ease Sino-Philippine relations in some occasions, stating that the Philippines' foreign policy is based on peace and does not want to "anger China."

This is a strong contrast to his previous actions, such as allowing the US to add new military bases in the Philippines and frequently provoking issues in the South China Sea. However, does this change mean that Marcos is really adjusting his foreign policy? Probably not.

Marcos

After all, Marcos's actual actions are full of inconsistency and have not truly stopped provoking in the South China Sea. Moreover, he is essentially pro-US, and his so-called softening towards China is more of a strategic adjustment, a temporary measure after weighing the pros and cons, not wanting to lose economic cooperation with China.

However, Sara emphasized that the Philippines should be friends with China and should not lean unilaterally towards the United States, which also reflects her recognition of the huge potential and practical necessity of Sino-Philippine cooperation.

It is worth noting that the Philippine economy depends on China, and China is one of the largest trading partners of the Philippines. There is broad room for cooperation between China and the Philippines, which is also why Marcos has shown goodwill towards China, as the Philippines needs economic cooperation with China.

Certainly, we also need to objectively view the internal conflicts within the Philippine political arena. Sara's criticism of Marcos may have considerations for maintaining national interests, but there are also factors of political struggle.

In the Philippine political environment, mutual checks and balances and competition among different factions are common, and their statements and actions often carry distinct party colors.

Sino-Philippine Relations

Therefore, regarding the statements of Sara and Marcos, we should not only look at the surface but also pay attention to their actual actions. China has never required any country to take sides.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7519056334063436339/

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