SOME events stay with us long after they are over, not because of the ceremony itself, but because they give us something that we can relate and reflect on.
The reception that the Chinese Embassy in Manila held at Shangri-La the Fort last July 31, 2026, for the 99th anniversary of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) was one such event. With government officials, diplomats, defense attachés, business leaders, academics and media in attendance. Incidentally the day also marked 90 years since the victory of the Long March, a big turning point in China’s history.
Beyond the formalities of that evening, a larger reality came into focus. China is no longer a distant geopolitical story discussed mainly in policy forums. For the Philippines, it is our nearest neighbor, one of our largest trading partners and a country with whom we must manage both significant opportunities and difficult maritime differences.
Not many countries impact the Philippines the way China does. Trade, investment, tourism, business — our economies tie together in many ways. Yet our relationship is also shaped by one of the Indo-Pacific’s most complex territorial and maritime disputes. So, our relationship with China flips between opportunity and tension. That’s why it’s important. And complicated.
The West Philippine Sea remains at the heart of those territorial and maritime differences. The Philippines stands by its rights within its exclusive economic zone under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 2016 arbitral award. China, however, rejects that ruling and continues to assert sovereignty over the disputed islands and maritime features, together with the maritime rights it believes come with them.
We can see why a lot of Filipinos have started to wonder if all the meetings and dialogue achieved much at all. We’ve had years of talks. But every time something happens, we see the same cycle: diplomatic protests, official statements, more talks. After a while, people get tired. They call it “dialogue fatigue.”
Hostility, however, is unlikely to solve the problem; actually, it would only make it worse. When disputes and claims are deeply entrenched, diplomacy is not always about finding an instant solution. More often, it’s usually about keeping things from spiraling out of control, making sure nobody makes a dangerous miscalculation.
China has consistently stated that differences should be addressed through dialogue and practical cooperation, while issues that cannot yet be resolved should not be allowed to define the overall relationship between the two countries. That approach has included proposals for greater cooperation in maritime safety, fisheries management, joint oil exploration, environmental protection, humanitarian assistance, search-and-rescue operations and crisis communication. These ideas sound good, and they actually matter if both sides back them up with real action, especially in the West Philippine Sea. If history tells us anything, it’s that peace doesn’t depend on resolving every conflict. More often, it is through managing their disagreements the right way with lines of communications open.
The Philippines has every right to build up its defenses and partnering with allies in ensuring its national security. For its part, China says a stronger PLA protects its borders and its security. The tricky thing is, both sides are starting to see everything the other does as a threat. From Beijing’s angle, the Philippines looks even closer to the United States, and that sounds like trouble. From Manila’s side, working with the US and other partners makes sense with all the incidents at sea — they see it as strengthening their hand. International relations experts call this a security dilemma: One side tries to feel safer, perceives a growing threat and it goes in circles.
At the end of the day, neither side wins from instability. China’s incredible growth came not from conflict, but from trading, manufacturing, investing and joining the global economy. The Philippines needs open sea routes and a stable region just as much — our jobs and livelihoods depend on it. Sure, working together won’t erase all arguments, but it does give us a strong reason not to let those issues ruin the whole relationship.
Ambassador Jing Quan of China put it simply: China and the Philippines are “neighbors that cannot be moved apart.” He talked about boosting trade, encouraging investment, promoting tourism, bringing people together and working more closely. These are good goals. The challenge is making sure constant maritime disputes don’t bury them. For both countries, the real test isn’t about solving everything overnight. It’s about stopping the disagreements from crowding out all the things we could get right.
Geography is settled. The two countries are stuck as neighbors. What they can choose is what kind of neighbors they want to be. Disagreements will pop up; tensions will be there. But there’s also a chance to build trust, do more together and stop small disputes from turning ugly. Ultimately, the future of Philippines-China relations are all about how much patience, restraint and wisdom leaders on both sides can show.