| Photo via Wikimedia Commons
Undoubtedly, the intense competition between the United States and China in the Indo-Pacific highly impacts countries in the region and beyond. The Philippines’ strategic location – which “sits squarely at the heart of the Indo-Pacific region,” as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. described it – makes it a key stakeholder with a central role to play in the power dynamics in the region, with the US and China engaged in a rivalry for economic, military, political and even technological supremacy.
Despite the escalating tension between the two giants with the rhetoric heating up once again, the US and China “need each other,” analysts say, pointing to the continued economic cooperation between the rivals, with bilateral trade reaching $690.6 billion in 2022, and the fact that their economies are complementary. While their battle for dominance continues, there are many indications that both nations seek to mitigate the tension, such as the recent visits of Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and State Secretary Antony Blinken to Beijing.
US president Joe Biden and Chinese president Xi Jinping also acknowledge the need to manage the competition between their countries responsibly, as seen during the G-20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, with President Biden saying he absolutely believes “there need not be a new Cold War.” At the same time, President Xi recognizes they share an interest in “no confrontation and peaceful coexistence.”
Being pragmatic, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. knows that the Philippines has to deal squarely with the United States and China – both of which are our major trade partners – while keeping true to the commitment to uphold our national interest and defend our sovereignty. From the onset, he has adopted a balanced foreign policy that seeks to engage with traditional allies and pursue relationships with new partners – espousing the position that the Philippines is “a friend to all and an enemy to none.”
But the reality, however, is that more than 80 percent of Filipinos remain distrustful of China, mainly because of what is happening in the West Philippine Sea, with Chinese Coast Guard vessels’ incessant harassment and obstruction of Philippine Coast Guard patrol vessels on routine supply and humanitarian missions, conducting dangerous maneuvers that could result in a collision. China built artificial islands within our territorial waters, destroying coral reefs and causing marine species to lose their habitat. Worse, the bullying and harassment by Chinese vessels have deprived Filipino fishermen of their livelihood.
The reality is – China’s harassment and bullying are the leading cause of the animosity of 90 percent of Filipinos, making us turn to our treaty ally, the United States, as “trustworthy and reliable” – an ally that is undoubtedly aligned with the Philippines’ firm resolve to protect its sovereignty.
Many Filipinos approve of the proposal by the Department of Education to include the West Philippine Sea and the maritime territorial issues in the Grade 10 curriculum, with a lesson on the 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague to be included as well. Senator Risa Hontiveros also filed a resolution to declare July 12 yearly as the “National West Philippine Sea Victory Day” to commemorate the 2016 PCA ruling invalidating China’s sweeping claims over the South China Sea.
The Department of Foreign Affairs also put up a microsite titled “Not One Inch” to document and commemorate the landmark PCA ruling, serving as a repository of information on the arbitral award and its contributions to the rule of law and peaceful settlement of disputes through the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and international law.
As one high-level government official told me, “If China would only leave our territorial waters alone, we would have an extremely better relationship with them than any other country, with them being our neighbor.”
The reality is – China’s harassment and bullying are the leading cause of the animosity of 90 percent of Filipinos, making us turn to our treaty ally, the United States, as “trustworthy and reliable” – an ally that is undoubtedly aligned with the Philippines’ firm resolve to protect its sovereignty.
Not surprisingly, the meeting of former president Rodrigo Duterte with President Xi has elicited extreme anxiety and agitation among many Filipinos. But as President Marcos said, any new line of communication between China and the Philippines is welcome, more so if the discussion included the shadowing by Chinese vessels and other issues surrounding the West Philippine Sea.
China is looking for “microphones” – meaning personalities who are willing to speak out about their position, like former US state secretary Henry Kissinger, another “old friend” who also visited China recently. But there also seems to be an increased activity by paid bloggers, hackers, and China sympathizers to discredit personalities who consistently speak out about China’s aggressive behavior.
But no matter how it goes, the Philippines will remain focused on engaging with China because it is in our mutual interest to have good economic relations with our neighbor, just like what the Philippines is doing with the US. We hope that those who profess a love of the country or who may have personal ill feelings about the United States or China – regardless of whether they are more inclined to favor one country over the other – what is important is to remember that deep inside, they are Filipinos. They will think long-term about the effects of their actions one way or another.
One thing is sure: I know for a fact that PBBM may have some issues with the United States – most especially stemming from what happened in the past – but he has undoubtedly made it clear that as the president, he will never allow whatever personal feelings or issues he may have to cloud his sworn duty to defend and preserve the best interest of the Republic and the Filipino people.
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