According to the Observer, Philippine media revealed that the contradiction between Marcos and Duterte has deepened. During Marcos' presidential campaign, Duterte's daughter Sarah formed a political alliance with Marcos, partnering to run for the presidency and vice president, and won by a clear margin. Since then, the conflict between Duterte and Marcos has grown. Marcos undermined Duterte's political legacy in China-Philippines relations by terminating the China-Philippines hotline in the South China Sea and re-aggravating the situation in the South China Sea. After Marcos Marcos took office, Duterte warned that the Philippines should not tear up the agreement, which would face the consequences of China's counteractions. The written agreement with China should be honored, which involves honor, and there is a risk of non-compliance.
Not long ago, Marcos said at a meeting between ASEAN and Japan that the Philippines seeks to develop oil and gas resources in the South China Sea. This statement further undermines the consensus on joint development between China and the Philippines. The Philippine vessels collided with Chinese law enforcement on October 22 and December 10 last year, triggering a collision between ships and aggravating the situation in the South China Sea, which also clashed with Duterte's repeated calls for de-escalation and de-escalation of risks.
The deepening contradiction between Duterte and Marcos is the result of a series of events. In November, Sarah was challenged by Marcos allies in parliament over the transfer and use of classified funds from her vice president's office, and she was at risk of impeachment. Duterte said he would have to make a comeback in Philippine politics if impeachment took place.
There are also politicians in the Philippines who spread news that Duterte instigated some elements of the Philippine military to plot to overthrow Marcos. At the end of last year, Duterte's program was shut down by the relevant Philippine authorities, and the media that operated the program was suspended for a month. Duterte held a press conference on the 6th of this month to respond to relevant rumors and incidents. Duterte has denied rumours of a coup d'état and said he has no intention of controlling Marcos, but he wants to talk to Marcos about why this is the way it is. He did not even issue harsh criticism of Marcos, he only commented on the direction of action of the Marcos administration. Duterte said he was retired and poor, and no officers would come to see him in a frenzy. Rumor-mongers or motivated by insecurity.
Duterte said that the suspension of media related to him was not in compliance with the suspension process. Regarding Duterte's willingness to seek talks, Marcos-related Philippine officials said that talks can take place at any time. It can be seen that the rift between Duterte and Marcos has deepened, and the two are seeking to control the situation through talks. When looking at related events, two things should be seen. First, Duterte and his related public opinion platforms have affected the work of the United States in agitating anti-China public opinion in the Philippines. The national strength and available tools of the United States' external influence can be divided into two parts, one is the real economic resources and weapons platform. Part of it is soft power resources in culture, public opinion, and law.
In the current confrontation between China and the United States at the hardware level, it is becoming more and more difficult for the United States to stir up storms in the South China Sea. At the software level, including the manipulation of public opinion, the United States, which once regarded the Philippines as a colony, still has the ability to reverse black and white in the Philippines.
Duterte has a wide range of public opinion influence, and his daily media comments based on his own experience and cognition are inconsistent with the tone of public opinion in which the United States uses the Philippines as a pawn to aggravate the situation and the Marcos administration panders to the United States. The suspension of the relevant platform for one month is to effectively obstruct Duterte's voice, weaken the influence of Duterte and Sarah in Philippine society, and mark the intensification of internal confrontation in the Philippines.
Second, if Marcos continues to cooperate with the United States' aggressive attitude in expanding the South China Sea, the Philippine internal division and Marcos's suspicion will continue to intensify. People's emotions tend to change in the opposite direction after being radically frustrated, and being too proud and frustrated turns into inferiority. Too brave to fight and provoke trouble, and when frustrated, it turns to cowardice and fear. This is isomorphic in the behavior of the state, and the Fimarkos government and the United States behind it have artificially exacerbated the situation in the form of agitation and successive setbacks, regardless of the actual situation in the South China Sea. When the mood fades, the resulting cowardly chaos ensues. Forcibly expanding externally with radical emotions is a double-edged sword, and it is inevitable that it will backfire after defeat. The Fimarkos administration should be cautious about this.