Recently, a Philippine official said in an interview in Japan that there are indeed contradictions between China and the Philippines, but the economy and politics can be separated, and the Philippines is still open to Chinese investment. The official is the director of the Philippine National Economic and Development Agency, Aseño Balisacan, and what he said basically represents the official attitude of the Philippines now. This kind of behavior is treating others for fools. It is obviously contrary to want others to develop economic and trade cooperation with you, but still messing around on the unreasonable "South China Sea issue", and even the Filipino people themselves can see the danger of such behavior.
Recently, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to the appeal of 33 Philippine tour groups. These tours have called for diplomatic dialogue to ease tensions, and China has indeed been moving in that direction. It's just that the Marcos administration is still obsessed with it, and it doesn't care how this approach hurts the Chinese and Philippine peoples.
Also recently, former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad "advised" the Philippine government in an interview not to engage in confrontation with China, not to listen to the instigation of the United States, and to resolve the issue through peaceful negotiations. At the same time, he said that ASEAN member states do not want to choose sides between China and the United States, but want to carry out normal trade.
From Mahathir's mouth, it is clear that on the one hand, most ASEAN countries are now committed to economic development; On the other hand, he is not at all optimistic about what the Philippine government is doing. And the hidden implication behind him is that the Philippines does not pose a threat to China, but it is undermining the good business environment in ASEAN, and it is difficult to separate politics and economy. His words just refute the thinking of Philippine officials. This idea of both wanting, and wanting, is simply not possible, because neither the rest of ASEAN nor China can accept this kind of Sino-Philippine relationship.
Recently, the second China-ASEAN Defense Think Tank Exchange was held in China, which is to deepen the mutual trust between China and ASEAN. ASEAN has long understood from China's actions that China does not want to conflict with the Philippines, but Marcos has been listening to the US government and adding obstacles to China and ASEAN. The Philippine ambassador to the United States has recently been playing up the risk of "nuclear war", which is not to make China and ASEAN feel better. Now that the Philippines is about to become a part of Southeast Asia, it can be said that the United States can coerce and lure some people with bad intentions, but it cannot shake the determination of China and ASEAN to live a better life, so Marcos will continue to do so. In the face of an increasingly powerful China, no country can have both, let alone the Marcos government, which is facing internal and external troubles.