Asian Art

China–Philippines relations

Diplomatic relations between the People's Republic of China and the Philippines were established in June 1975. Relations became closer during the Philippine presidencies of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Rodrigo Duterte. However, they became more strained due to territorial disputes in the South China Sea, particularly following the 2012 Scarborough Shoal standoff, after which China established de facto control over the shoal and the July 2016 arbitral tribunal found that China had violated the traditional fishing rights of Philippine fishermen. In 2013, the Philippine government under President Benigno Aquino III filed an arbitration case concerning China's maritime claims in the South China Sea. Under President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., the Philippines has strengthened its security cooperation with the United States while maintaining diplomatic and economic engagement with China; he has likewise stated that his administration does not pursue a policy of distancing itself from China. China has sought to increase its influence in the Philippines and the wider region, while the United States and China remain engaged in broader strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific. The Duterte administration emphasized diplomatic alignment with China and engaged in regional talks over a South China Sea Code of Conduct. A strategy that faced domestic and international backlash over its concessions to Beijing. China is the Philippines' top trading partner. According to a survey conducted in late 2023, the country that Filipinos distrusted the most was China. The Philippines also had the highest threat perception of China according to a survey released by the Pew Research Center in July 2026, by at least 76%. Relations strained during the presidency of Bongbong Marcos due to increasing tensions over the South China sea dispute, resulting in the Philippines' withdrawal from the Belt and Road Initiative in 2023 and allegations of election interference in 2025.

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See also

• ▸Cross Temple, Fangshan
• ▸Cathedral of St Peter, Bautzen
• ▸Architecture of Penang

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Text from Wikipedia; plate via Wikimedia Commons. Text CC BY-SA 4.0; plate freely licensed (see Commons). Source record. Images and catalogue data are reproduced from open-access collections.