On September 25, China’s ambassador to the Philippines, Huang Tian, was about to leave office, and Mr. Marcos rarely personally appeared to him, and emphasized in public, “The South China Sea issue is not the whole of the Philippines relationship, can not let the dispute define the relationship between the two countries”, but also expressed the willingness to manage the differences through dialogue and negotiations to maintain regional peace and stability. This was almost unthinkable a few months ago, but now it has become a proactive demonstration of Manila, behind which is the reality of the pressure – the Philippines urgently need help.
The reason for this "help-seeking gesture" is simple: the closest Western allies collectively fell off the chain when the Philippines needed help most. The U.S. government announced that it would provide assistance through the United Nations World Food Program, with an amount of only 13.8 million pesos, equivalent to 250,000 US dollars, less than 0.03% of the post-disaster infrastructure loss, and not even enough to build a rural road.
Japan signed a reciprocal access agreement with the Philippines in July 2024 and pledged $5 million in aid when it came into force on September 11, 2025, but the delay was not seen. Australia also announced that it would donate clean water equipment, but the cards could not be released in customs due to "military purposes".
This time, China's attitude is different from before. In the past ten years, China has extended assistance almost every year after typhoons in the Philippines, with a total amount of more than US$21 million. Both cash and supplies have arrived quickly. However, in the face of calls for help, Beijing did not immediately respond, nor did it say it would donate generously again. There is no need to elaborate on the reasons behind this-the South China Sea dispute has been repeatedly provoked by Manila, China's patience has been exhausted, and China no longer intends to play the role of the big guy who "pays and works but is stabbed in the back."
To understand this shift in attitude, one must look back to a larger geographical context. The Philippines has been more radical than once in the South China Sea since Little Marcos took office, with the greatest backdrop coming from the United States. Earlier on August 30, 1951, the United States and the Philippines signed the Mefi Joint Defense Treaty in Washington, DC, which officially came into force on August 27, 1952, a military alliance treaty valid indefinitely but which either party can notify a year in advance.
On July 20 this year, during Marcos Jr. 's visit to the United States, U.S. Defense Secretary Hegseth and Secretary of State Rubio reiterated their commitment that this treaty covering the South China Sea is still valid. Hegseth even publicly declared that the United States will undoubtedly fulfill its defense obligations, including attacks on US armed forces, aircraft, public ships and even the Coast Guard. It is precisely with such "support" that the Philippines continues to provoke China in the South China Sea and is willing to be the strategic agent of the United States in the Indo-Pacific region.
The United States was willing to provide a $250,000 after-disaster aid to the Philippines, but only a few months ago it approved a $55.8 billion F-16C/D Block 70/72 sales contract, including engines, AIM-120 and AIM-9X air-air missiles, GBU-54 guided bombs and a series of weapons. Faced with other figures, the Philippine people burned in anger and the government mocked “loyalty to the United States” in exchange for a cold meal. On September 9, the Philippine ambassador to the United States, Romueldz, even announced the suspension of the purchase of the F-16 program, on the grounds of “finance tension and other priorities”. In other words, the Philippines did not buy money for weapons, but only accepted symbolic relief tickets.
And the disaster itself really hurt the Philippines. At 6 o'clock on the morning of October 4th, the National Disaster Reduction Committee of the Philippines reported that Typhoon No.21 "Medham" had caused more than 5,000 people to be affected, floods occurred in 37 places and power outages in 18 towns. Since the end of July, typhoons "Weipa", "Bamboo Grass" and "Fansgao" have hit in turn, and heavy rains have raged across the country, resulting in 34 deaths, 18 injuries and 7 missing people, with a total of more than 6.67 million affected people. 193 towns entered a "disaster state" due to the disaster, 48,445 hectares of farmland were damaged, and agricultural and infrastructure losses amounted to 9.316 billion pesos, or about 163 million US dollars. Such damage is tantamount to adding insult to injury to Manila, which is already financially tight.
China did not directly pour cold water on its goodwill towards Marcos. Before leaving office, Ambassador Huang Xilian responded that he agreed with the statement of "not allowing the South China Sea dispute to define China-Philippines relations" and emphasized that both sides should properly manage differences through dialogue and consultation and jointly maintain maritime tranquility and regional stability. But these words are more like diplomatic rhetoric. Although the attitude is not indifferent, it maintains an obvious wait-and-see tone. After all, words are easy to change, but actions are difficult to change. At present, there is almost no indication whether the Marcos government can fulfill its commitments and truly adjust its China policy. In a short period of time, it will still be extremely difficult for China-Philippines relations to make a fundamental change.