Beijing and Manila struck a rare conciliatory tone on Thursday, downplaying tensions in the disputed South China Sea during a farewell meeting between Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr and outgoing Chinese envoy Huang Xilian.
The South China Sea issues “are not the sum total” of relations between the two neighbours, Marcos told Huang, according to a statement from the Philippine leader’s communications office.
“Let us not allow these differences to define our relationship,” Marcos said, adding that the two countries should continue to encourage the deepening of trade, people-to-people interactions and cultural exchanges.
The Chinese embassy said Huang had agreed with Marcos that the relationship between the two countries should not be defined by the South China Sea disputes.
“It is hoped that the Philippine side will work with China in the same direction to put China-Philippines relations back on track at an early date,” the outgoing ambassador said, according to an embassy statement issued after the meeting.
The remarks resurrected language used in January 2023 when Marcos visited China. The joint statement agreed by Beijing and Manila at the time emphasised that “maritime issues do not comprise the sum total of relations between the two countries”.
In November that year, during a meeting with President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in the United States, Marcos said that disputes over the South China Sea should not define bilateral ties.
Despite these diplomatic gestures, tensions in the disputed waters have continued to intensify over the past three years, with recent incidents including the use of water cannons, aggressive ship manoeuvres, physical interceptions and stand-offs involving vessels and aircraft from both countries.
The busy, resource-rich waterway has also increasingly become an arena for military posturing that pits China against the US and its allies, including the Philippines.
Confrontations around Scarborough Shoal – called Huangyan Island by China and Panatag Shoal by the Philippines – have grown increasingly frequent and hazardous in recent months. Two weeks ago, China announced it would set up a nature reserve at the disputed site, prompting a formal protest from Manila, which claims the area lies within its exclusive economic zone.
Even as a conciliatory tone was struck in Manila on Thursday, the Chinese defence ministry accused the Philippines of having “repeatedly infringed on and harassed China, creating tensions at sea”.
“It is a complete troublemaker and peace disrupter,” ministry spokesman Zhang Xiaogang said.
The timely completion of the long-awaited code of conduct for the South China Sea is set to be high on the agenda when the Philippines takes over the chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations next year.
Marcos confirmed last month that he would push for a finalised and binding code of conduct.
“It’s unfortunate we didn’t make much more progress on the difficulties that we have in the South China Sea,” Marcos told Huang on Thursday, according to the Philippine readout.
“But I think, considering how difficult the situation was, that we have managed to keep things at least away from too [many problems].”
Marcos also expressed appreciation for Huang’s “years of service in strengthening bilateral ties”. “We will miss you,” he told the Chinese envoy in a video clip of their meeting posted by the Philippines’ ABS-CBN News.
Noting that this year marked the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and China, Marco said his administration would build on the legacy of his late father’s presidency to continue the friendship between the two nations, according to the Chinese release.
Marcos has been grappling with mounting domestic pressures, including a major corruption scandal in flood control projects that triggered nationwide protests on Sunday and prompted him to launch an independent probe.
In his meeting with Marcos, Huang said that a good-neighbourly friendship “serves the fundamental interests of both countries and their peoples”.
“The friendly exchanges between China and the Philippines have lasted for thousands of years. The current difficulties and challenges are but a brief moment in the long course of history,” Huang said during a farewell reception at the Chinese embassy.
In a video address to the event, Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte, daughter of former president Rodrigo Duterte, said that as neighbours and partners, the Philippines and China would continue to develop bilateral relations based on mutual respect, sovereign equality and a shared commitment to promoting regional peace and stability.
The two countries established diplomatic relations in 1975, when Ferdinand Marcos Snr was president of the Philippines, while during Rodrigo Duterte’s presidency Manila adopted a more Beijing-friendly approach despite their maritime disputes.
Huang, who began his ambassadorship to Manila in 2019, also paid a farewell courtesy visit to Philippine Foreign Minister Maria Theresa Lazaro last Friday.
“Amidst the ups and downs in Philippines-China bilateral relations over the years, my engagements with ambassador Huang Xilian have remained candid but constructive,” Lazaro posted on social media that day.
Manila’s rotation and resupply missions to its long-grounded warship at Second Thomas Shoal “can now be conducted incident-free [which] attests to the value of our intensive diplomatic negotiations on the Provisional Understanding” reached with Beijing in January, she added.
The disputed reef in the Spratly Islands, known as Renai Reef in China and Ayungin Shoal in the Philippines, is claimed by both countries.
In contrast, Philippine coastguard spokesman Jay Tarriela issued a lengthy criticism of Huang on social media.
“In essence, while Huang masterfully articulated China’s unlawful and aggressive stance, his efforts undeniably amplified strains from Manila’s viewpoint, yielding no meaningful resolutions to the maritime disputes,” Tarriela posted on Thursday.
Despite the maritime tensions, China remained the Philippines’ largest trading partner and top source of imports for the ninth straight year in 2024, according to official Chinese data.
In US dollar terms, two-way trade rose 3.2 per cent year on year during the first eight months of 2025, according to Chinese customs data.
