Time Manila changed its aggressive policy

With the Philippines set to elect a new president on Monday, the international community is waiting to see whether the new government takes measures to improve Beijing-Manila ties, which have been plagued by rising tensions over the maritime dispute between the two sides in the South China Sea.

During the election campaign, all presidential candidates appeared to take a fairly hawkish stance on the South China Sea issue. Yet most of them hinted that, if elected, they would revise the China policy followed by President Benigno Aquino III, who outrageously likened China to Nazi Germany in a speech to the Japanese parliament last year. Some of the candidates even said that they would resume the high-level exchanges with China and address the bilateral disputes through peaceful negotiations.

Such a contradictory mentality, in effect, is shared by many Philippine politicians. For them, China is a neighbor which is the second-largest trade partner, largest source of imports, and the second-largest export market for their country. That clashing with China will significantly reduce the Philippines' dividends from the ongoing regional economic integration explains why Aquino has shown great interest in the Beijing-led Belt and Road Initiative and decided to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. By playing the nationalism card in the South China Sea issue, Aquino did manage to distract public attention, and achieve political stability and economic development at home, as foreign investment in the Philippines has increased in the past six years. The tactic also added weight to his government's legitimacy and the cohesion of his party's rank and file, but failed to narrow the income gap between the few haves and the huge population of have-nots.