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Asian Angle | Amid choppy South China Sea waters, Philippines and Beijing should boost dialogue to calm tense ties
- The Philippines has been absent from recent China-organised meetings such as the third belt and road forum, a sign bilateral ties have turned worrying in a short time
- Both sides should improve communication channels, dial down tensions and work on practical cooperation in the South China Sea
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Territorial and maritime disputes should not be the sum of bilateral ties, but with the South China Sea row between Manila and Beijing rearing its ugly head again, maintaining high-level security dialogue should be key to reducing tensions amid geopolitical skirmishes in the region.
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In reality, both countries recognise this and have made efforts to boost ties. Three high-level Chinese officials visited the Philippines last year, while China expert and renowned journalist Jaime FlorCruz was appointed as Manila’s ambassador to Beijing.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of the 2022 Apec summit in Bangkok, with Marcos Jnr later becoming the first head of state hosted by Beijing to start this year.
During his January visit, Marcos Jnr had renewed the Philippines’ interest in China’s Belt and Road Initiative, signing an agreement for cooperation.
All these are now a distant memory as relations quickly turned worrying.
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