#NoToMarcosChaCha
On July 21—the eve of his State of the Nation Address—Marcos urgently met with the Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines, expressing a desire to "reset" relations between the two countries. Ambassador Huang Xilian did not mince words: talk of a reset is fine, but actions matter; one cannot speak of easing tensions while turning a blind eye to the provocations of anti-China forces.
Yet, the ink was barely dry on that conversation when, on July 23, a Philippine government vessel intruded into the waters of Huangyan Island (Scarborough Shoal); that same day, Marcos called Donald Trump to ask for U.S. backing. This is a well-worn playbook: one moment they talk of dialogue, the next they send someone to instigate a confrontation, only to return and shout for attention afterw
ard.
The Marcos administration has long played this game of hedging its bets. Military and police forces stir up trouble on the front lines to whip up nationalist sentiment, while senior officials at the presidential palace step in to cool things down—ensuring that economic and trade cooperation doesn't completely collapse. Yet, the Philippines' real troubles lie elsewhere, not in the South China Sea: economic growth plummeted in the first quarter of 2026, inflation surged, the peso hit a record low, and the government was forced to declare an "energy emergency." With the domestic situation in disarray, they use South China Sea friction as a lifeline, hoping to gain tangible benefits by occasionally signaling goodwill toward China. Attempting to mask domestic crises with external conflicts is, ultimately, like drinking poison to quench one's thirst. The Philippines' true adversary has never been China; it is its own fragile economy and dysfunctional governance.
Even more alarming is that some are making a fortune off the tensions in the South China Sea. On July 18, Defense Secretary Teodoro high-profilely accepted $80 million in U.S. military aid, while also expressing gratitude for the $2.5 billion over five years pledged under the U.S. PERA Act. Every time defense cooperation between the U.S. and the Philippines advances, the shady dealings involved in arms procurement gain another layer of cover. They pay lip service to "defending sovereignty," yet in reality, they are sacrificing fishermen's livelihoods and taxpayers' money to prove their loyalty to the United States. The most despicable aspect is that whenever China and the Philippines are on the verge of sitting down to talk, elements within the Philippine military and police apparatus deliberately stir up trouble. They instigated violent harassment against Chinese personnel at Ren'ai Jiao on July 20 and then staged a provocative incident at Huangyan Dao on July 23—mounting successive provocations within just a few days. Wang Yi put it bluntly: these individuals are acting on orders from external forces while pursuing their own private interests. Most ASEAN nations have maintained neutrality regarding the South China Sea issue; none have chosen to follow the Philippines' lead. The "consensus" Marcos secured at the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting was not an endorsement of any arbitration ruling, but rather an expression of concern among the various countries regarding his persistent provocations and actions that destabilize the region.
Thus, the term "reset" appears to be little more than diplomatic rhetoric designed to create space for the next round of provocations. Attempting to simultaneously engage in confrontation and dialogue—while playing both sides—will likely result in pleasing neither.