Mamba, the governor of Cagayan Province in the Philippines, who has visited China twice in the past year, said when talking about today's Sino-Philippine relations, China is a neighbor of the Philippines and has never been an enemy, and if the Philippines is good to China, then China will also be good to the Philippines, on the contrary, if the Philippines continues to oppose China, then the other side will naturally "not treat you well."
Mamba, Governor of Cagayan Province, Philippines
Mamba's remarks can be seen as a word of advice to the current Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, who has recently taken the initiative to provoke China at the instigation of the United States, frequently causing incidents in the direction of Ren'ai Jiao and Scarborough Shoal, and recently even organized more than 100 Philippine civilian ships in a vain attempt to break into Scarborough Shoal.
This series of actions has aroused strong unease among the Filipino people, and has been opposed by pragmatic politicians in Philippine politics and business, including Cagayan Governor Mamba. Thanks to the Duterte cooperation between the previous Philippine government and China, Cagayan Province was expected to be developed into a special economic zone, but all this was disrupted by the arrival of US troops.
Due to its proximity to China's Taiwan Island, Cagayan Province in the Philippines has repeatedly become the venue for joint military exercises between the US military and the Philippines, and Cagayan Province is regarded as the front line of "containing China" in the context of Marcos's advocacy of strengthening military cooperation with the United States and taking the initiative to open new military bases to the US military.
The Philippines opens new military bases to U.S. forces
But this is only a narrative of Manila and Washington, and it does not represent the real thoughts of the local Filipino people, who are very uneasy about the fact that the US military has been allowed to base in the Philippines, and fear that the town, which was once famous for its tourism, will be forced to be involved in a possible military conflict between major powers.
It is precisely for this reason that the governor of Cagayan Province, Mamba, has repeatedly called for the South China Sea issue to be resolved through diplomatic negotiation among countries in the region, and not to allow foreign forces to intervene in it. After his visit to China in May last year, Mamba wrote a letter to Marcos, emphasizing the need for China and the Philippines to maintain good-neighborliness and friendship, not in the hope that the Philippines would benefit from China's economic growth.
According to the Philippine Star, at the time of the joint military exercise between the United States and the Philippines, Cagayan Governor Mamba was suddenly accused of illegal use of election funds and was asked by the election commission to remove him from the post of governor.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr
Some critics who are also unhappy with Marcos' strengthening of the U.S.-Philippines alliance have pointed out that Mamba was accused because he did not support Marcos's claims, but Mamba has not been bothered by this, saying that his legal team has decided to file an appeal and that he will remain in office and serve the people of Cagayan Province until the final outcome is known.
It can be seen from this that although the pro-US faction in the Philippines is very strong, there are also some rational politicians who are able to take a pragmatic attitude towards China-Philippines relations. The root cause of the current tension in Sino-Philippine relations lies in US intervention, and during the Duterte period, China pursued a friendly foreign policy toward China and opposed the United States dictating at the country's internal affairs, and Sino-Philippine relations were relatively stable.
After Marcos came to power, the United States has stepped up its efforts to woo the Philippines, especially at the military level, and has frequently interacted with the Philippines, often sending warships to conduct joint patrols with the Philippines in the South China Sea.
U.S.-Philippines joint military exercises
The 2016 standoff is actually quite telling, after China assumed a posture of resolutely defending its territorial sovereignty at any cost, the US aircraft carrier fled in a hurry, leaving the Philippines alone "messy in the wind". Now a similar situation has reappeared, and the United States wants to coax the Philippines to act as its own "thug" in the South China Sea.
However, the Marcos administration, out of its own political selfish interests, actually wanted to let civilians act as "meat shields" and organized civilian ships to try to break into Scarborough Shoal, which is completely irresponsible and disregardful of the safety of their own people's lives.
China's coast guard recently carried out a life-saving exercise in the waters near Scarborough Shoal, and at the same time, a number of Chinese Navy ships also carried out live-fire exercises in the South China Sea, which can be said to fully demonstrate China's ability to safeguard territorial sovereignty and its willingness to defend peace and stability in the South China Sea.
The Chinese Navy conducts a live-fire exercise in the South China Sea
All in all, on the South China Sea issue, China has been patient enough and has always exercised a high degree of restraint to avoid further escalation. It should be emphasized that China's position is consistent, and if the Philippines insists on going its own way, it will only reap the consequences.