By Jacob Baquiran | April 28, 2019
The Philippines has been a nation that has made some progress with diplomatic relations for the past decades. However, it has gone through a large transition with the current relationship between the Philippines and China under the Duterte Administration. With the current events that have unfolded, the president of the Philippines, Pres. Rodrigo Duterte has expressed his disdain for the American government, thus weakening the ties with the Philippines and the United States. However, according to a Pulse Asia survey conducted around December 2018, the majority of Filipinos trust the United States more than other countries such as Australia, UK, and Russia. However, China was among the least trusted country with only 39% out of 1,800 Filipino adults. President Rodrigo Durterte has proposed various plans and policies with China that would further strengthen the country's diplomatic relations with the Chinese Government. However, the big question here is how is the Filipino's reacting to the country's current situation in terms of international affairs. Furthermore, would this benefit the overall well-being of the Philippines or would this be another scheme to improve China's economy?
Various social movements have been displayed in order to properly show the Filipino's distrust for the country. One of the most recent and notable rallies was the rally of April 9, 2019. About 400 people attended the protest and were led by two opposition senatorial candidates, Chel Diokno and Neri Colmenares in Makati City, towards the Chinese Consulate. One of the biggest issues that have increased the Filipinos' distrust over China is the country's constant claim over the Philippine Sea. There were even reports of the Chinese Coast Guard's perpetual harassment over the Filipino Fisherman. According to the Filipino fishermen, members of the Chinese Coast Guard took their catch. This issue has reached the hearts of the Filipino masses since they were reports filled with feelings of compassion and pity. Another reason for the distrust is the use of China's debt-trap diplomacy. This is a type of diplomacy manifests in a way that China offers to finance and build various projects for poorer countries. However, that catch is that the countries do not have the ability to pay for the debts from China. Therefore, China's way of collect debts is through obtaining the poorer country's natural resources or other assets. There has been already a number of countries that fell for the debt trap. Laos, Mongolia, and Pakistan are some of the countries that are already in the trap and the Philippines are already one of them with the upcoming Reclamation of Manila Bay.
China has been related to the Philippines for a very long time. However, the current administration holds the strongest bond. However, the assumption that the current relationship between China and the Philippines will lead to China benefiting over the affair while the Philippines suffers more losses. It is time that we take a stand against the upcoming threat that may be deemed perilous for the country and the well being of its citizens.
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