Philippines should maintain real neutral stance that has improved ties with China: China Daily editorial

In the state of the nation address he delivered to the country's congress on Monday, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. underscored his government's resolve to pursue the country's territorial claims through diplomacy.

By avoiding directly mentioning the maritime disputes with China in the South China Sea, the Philippine leader clearly shows that he cherishes the rapprochement attained by the two sides since his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte replaced Manila's previous one-sided pro-United States diplomacy with a neutral approach. That has brought the Philippines tangible benefits.

As a matter of fact, such a balanced approach was the long-term diplomatic stance of Manila before former president Benigno Aquino III took office in 2010. It not only helped Manila maintain stable relations with Beijing and Washington at the same time, but also helped stabilize the regional situation.

It was Washington's attempts to sow discord between China and its neighbors, a key component of its China-containment strategy, that deviated the Aquino III government from that course, downgrading the Philippines from a major player in the region upholding strategic autonomy to a piece on the US' board in its geopolitical game in Asia.

It was also at Washington's urging that the Philippines unilaterally discarded the tacit agreement it had with China to shelve their territorial disputes to jointly pursue development.

That being said, despite the prudence and care Marcos has exercised to show it is toeing a neutral line, his government has unmistakably moved closer to the US.

Shortly after he took office, Manila gave the green light to the US to open another four military bases in the Philippines, increasing the total number to nine. One is perched by the South China Sea, and the other three are close to Taiwan island. All of them serve as footholds for the US military to intervene in the South China Sea disputes and the Taiwan question.

The Marcos government has also tried to hype up the ruling in the arbitration case initiated by the Aquino III government on the instigation of Washington, showing its weakness in the face of US pressure.

The Duterte government did neither of the two. Marcos certainly cannot afford to ignore Duterte's meeting with the Chinese leader last week, when Beijing reiterated its constant stance on bilateral relations. That should be taken as a message to him urging Manila to strictly adhere to what has been agreed and not to deviate from the charted course.

Otherwise, Beijing will interpret the Marcos government's claimed neutral stance as tactical ambiguity toward China and strategic inclination toward the US. Once that happens, the hard-earned balance will be disturbed, and the Philippines will find itself once again locking horns with its neighbor.