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Manilla’s presidential palace, Marcos, is facing the toughest test since he came to power.Philippines Inflation slowly climbed to 6.1%This is a figure that hasn’t been seen in 15 years.
On the price card of rice was written fifty-six pesos a kilogram, on the streets of the capital, people ranks in the long row under the hot sun.
Meanwhile, an old flood protection project corruption case was overthrown, and the former audit officials exploded. The amount involved is as high as 4.7 billion pesos.
People's emotions rapidly fermented on social networks. On the screen of mobile phones, the topic that asked him to step down once rushed to the top of Twitter's hot search.
The shadow of history seems to be back.
In 1968, his father eventually fled Hawaii due to similar economic difficulties and public dissatisfaction, and now the situation is getting closer.
A professor at the University of the Philippines named Cruz said: His support has dropped to 45%., which is 18 points lower than the same period last year. A diplomatic victory is urgently needed to divert domestic attention。
Even within ASEAN, the situation has become less relaxed, with foreign ministers at the September meeting, speaking in the words of Indonesian and Malaysian representatives, expressing concerns about the Philippines’ radical gesture in the South China Sea issue.
An ASEAN diplomat privately expressed concern, He felt that Marcos had some risky policies that might drag the entire region into the whirlpool of geopolitics.
In the face of this situation, Marcos appears to be thinking of two ways to go together, and on the one hand, in January, he asked Russian ambassador Igor Byron to send a formal invitation to Putin.
Hopefully he will visit the Philippines in 2026Byron also created an atmosphere for the media in Moscow, saying it would be historic, just to catch the 50th anniversary of the establishment of relations between the two countries. But the Kremlin side was quiet, the reaction was quite cold, and had not given an official response.
On the other hand, his pace towards the United States has accelerated significantly. In March, He met in Manila with the visiting U.S. Indian-Pacific Commander Aquilino.
After the talks, Mefi soon signed the bilateral defence guideline, giving the U.S. military a green light for five new military bases, and by May, moving faster.
The U.S. Army's Tifón missile system was first deployed to the north of Lusong Island. The missile’s range is said to cover the main waterways of the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea directly.
This summer, tensions in the South China Sea almost reached a peak.
In July, the waters near Palawan Island were particularly lively. The "Sea Warrior" exercise between the United States and the Philippines kicked off, with a scale of 17,000 people, setting a new record.
Under the water, It is the first "Ohio" class nuclear submarine sent by the US militaryOn the sea, the figure of the Japanese "Izumo" is even more eye-catching. This is the first time that their warship has sailed into this water area.
Beijing's reaction was not delayed at all, the sky in early August, the bomb-6J group of Southern battlefields passed low, hanging under the wings of the eagle strike-12, flying straight above the island of Yellowstone, almost simultaneously. Next to the Reef, six white ships of the Maritime Guard have also been placed.
On the bows of three of them, the 76mm naval guns look very cold in sunlight, while from space, in high-resolution satellite photos, the tarmac and radar positions of Mischief Reef are getting bigger and bigger day by day.
Putin's attitude has been speculated on all sides, but his invitation to the Philippines has been silent, which in itself is a signalLilia Lavrentieva, an expert at the Moscow Institute of International Relations, pointed to the core of the problem.
The war in Ukraine is not over yet. Russia will not waver in its strategic cooperation with China for the Philippines. She only mentioned two sets of figures. In 2024, the trade volume between China and Russia will exceed US$260 billion, while between Russia and the Philippines, it will not even be 1 billion. This account is very simple.
America’s attitude at this time seems to be delicate.
Words in public always support the Philippines, but the real trump card is always in hand.
In September this year, Manila desperately wants a firm commitment, hoping that the Mutual Defense Treaty will automatically take effect in the event of conflict.
But Washington only said that it should be re-evaluated according to the specific situation. This ambiguity made the air in Manila heavy.
In this chess game played by giants, Southeast Asian countries are also carefully moving their chess pieces, and Vietnam quietly approaches China. During the first half of the year, the two sides held three working meetings on the sea.
Over in Malaysia, China is also discussing the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea.
Former Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's recent speech was not loud but heavy. He said that small countries should not be pawns of big countries, but should be the bridge of communication.
At the same time, Japan’s position in the South China Sea is becoming increasingly clear.
In April, the ink of the Mutual Access Agreement failed, opening the door for the Japanese Self-Defense Forces to enter training in the Philippines.
This is the first time that the Japanese army has legitimately set foot on the soil of the Philippines after the smoke of World War II cleared. This new piece fell on the chessboard, and the safety balance in the entire area seemed to tremble slightly.
The pressure on four weeks is mounting, and the Marcos administration is trying to pry open a new gap.
Last October, officials from the Ministry of Energy announced the oil and gas bidding plan for nine blocks in the South China Sea, and there was a smell of all-in-one-basket in the air.
China’s warning is coming soon, and the wording is harsh, but the atmosphere in the office is even worse. The phone calls from those international energy giants remained silent, and only three small companies handed over their plans.
Domestic troubles also began to gather, with supporters of former Vice President Robredo standing with some civil society groups who launched the so-called national interest movement and criticized Marcos 'foreign policy as too risky.
The latest poll numbers are on the table. 62% of the people oppose spending more money on military matters. They just want a stable life.
Looking back at the end of the year, Putin’s invitation to visit was still a little bit unmoving, when Kremlin spokesman Peskov was asked by reporters.
It just means that the relationship between the two countries is on the normal track, and there is no mention of the visit. This deliberate indifference is more difficult than a direct refusal.
The lights of the presidential palace in Manila were often lit until late at night, and people inside said he was always alone until very late. Faced with the internal and external difficulties, he was still looking for the way out, but the sky outside the window seemed to no longer wait for him.
There was a silence on the Russian side, the Americans left room for speech, China’s gestures were very determined, and even its neighbors began to deliberately move away.
All this, like an invisible wall, stuck Marcus in the corner, this wall, It is more difficult to cross than any military line of defense.
References:
National Anti-Corruption Protests in the Philippines 2025-09-22 10:34 PM Source: Global Times
The Philippines invited Putin to visit, "There have been four Philippine presidents to visit Russia, the Russian side has not returned" 2025-10-01 22:25
Mefi declared that the Common Defense Treaty applies to the South China Sea, China's response 2025-07-23 09:40