#Politics# | 🌏 Why does the Philippines send mixed signals on China? In an interview with South, Jinan University scholar Dai Fan explains the competing interests behind Manila’s tougher stance on China, its closer security ties with the US and allies, and its push for a “reset” with Beijing. He also examines how Manila uses media and maritime incidents to shape international perceptions of the South China Sea dispute. Full text: #ChinaPhilippines# #SouthChinaSea# #Philippines# #China# #Geopolitics#

The Chinese Embassy appreciates the reiteration of the one-China policy by the DFA of the Philippines. Under current circumstances, this public statement is timely and necessary in preventing certain forces from sabotaging China-Philippines relations by playing with the Taiwan question. In the mean time, the Embassy doesn’t accept the DFA public statements in relation to the Embassy’s pushing back against attacks and smears on China. The Embassy is always committed to managing differences with the Philippines through diplomatic channel. Meanwhile the Chinese Embassy will not remain silent when China’s interests and dignity are undermined. This is the duty that diplomatic mission must perform.

Jay Tarriela has turned the office of a PCG spokesperson into a personal platform for anti-China propaganda. While Tarriela gets the attention he craves, it is the Filipino people who pay the price. First, Tarriela is bent on stirring up trouble and damaging China-Philippines relations. It is because of the attacks on the Chinese language education in the Philippines by anti-China forces like Jay Tarriela that the Chinese language teachers were forced to leave the Philippines. Filipino students lost the teachers and classes and in the long run more job opportunities. Second, Tarriela keeps stoking tensions in the South China Sea with provocative remarks, distorted facts, and misleading claims. Even China’s humanitarian assistance to Filipino fishermen was smeared by Tarriela as a “PR stunt”. Is he really concerned about the safety of Filipino fishermen and frontline personnel, or is he more interested in keeping himself in the spotlight? Third, obviously Tarriela is a faithful believer ofUS intelligence. Remember the small tube of white powder presented by US officials in the UN security council as the proof of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction? That’s how “accurate and reliable”US intelligence is. As former CIA director Mike Pompeo once said publicly “we lied, we cheated, we stole”.

Chinese FM Wang Yi met with ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn in Manila. The South China Sea is a shared home for regional countries. South China Sea issues should not become a stumbling block to China-ASEAN relations. Certain forces within the Philippine military and maritime law enforcement ranks have deliberately provoked incidents in the #SouthChinaSea# to serve the interests of external forces, undermining the process of improving China-Philippines relations as well as peace and stability in the South China Sea. Regional countries should remain highly vigilant against this. 🔗

Who is promoting exchanges and cooperation and helping stabilize bilateral relations? And who is spreading disinformation and fueling public hostility? Although China-Philippines relations are at an extremely sensitive and critical juncture, the Chinese Embassy continues to actively promote people-to-people exchanges and economic and trade cooperation between the two countries. In the first half of 2026, bilateral trade between China and the Philippines reached 44.52 billion, up 20% year on year. Multiple direct flight routes have been launched, including Quanzhou–Cebu, Chongqing–Manila, and Fuzhou–Manila. From January to August 2026, over 300,000 Chinese tourists visited the Philippines, an increase of 90.3%, while the number of Filipino visitors to China rose by 48.9% in the first half of the year. Linda Walker, the lead actress of The True Heiress Is a Top Student, held a fan meeting in the Philippines, with related videos garnering more than 100 million views across online platforms. The Chinese Embassy also hosted an open day, welcoming more than 1,000 Filipino visitors to experience Chinese culture firsthand. Meanwhile, Jay Tarriela seems to have made opposing China his full-time obsession. According to incomplete statistics, Jay Tarriela posted 195 Facebook posts in 2025 and more than 290 so far this year, all rife with false accusations against China. He has vilified and attacked Chinese leaders, targeted Chinese-language media, hyped up the so-called “China threat,” and now has turned his sights on Confucius Institutes. What exactly is he trying to achieve? And who is pulling the strings behind the scenes? More importantly, what do Confucius Institutes have to do with his actual responsibilities as a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesperson? Has his official job description suddenly expanded to include commenting on everything related to China, or is he simply using his position as a platform to advance his own political agenda?