Beware of one bad apple spoiling whole barrel: China Daily editorial

During a telephone conversation with Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Maria Theresa Lazaro on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi delivered a clear warning: China-Philippines relations are facing malicious interference.

Manila should take this message seriously as any mishandling could further damage the already troubled bilateral ties.

Wang's warning — that a handful of Philippine politicians, driven by political prejudice and self-interest, have repeatedly provoked and smeared China — was timely and to the point.

While he did not mention any name, Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr is foremost among those who have crossed China's red lines, politicized normal economic, trade and people-to-people exchanges, and infringed upon the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese personnel and institutions in the Philippines.

It was Teodoro who, at the Shangri-La Dialogue in May, dismissed Chinese fertilizer and fuel assistance as "packaging and deception". Again, it was he who, at the Seoul Defense Dialogue in September, theatrically brandished a purported Chinese diplomatic note as evidence of "coercion". Such reckless behavior occurred even after Beijing had, on June 11, imposed sanctions on him, along with his spouse and children.

Even many of his own countrymen, it seems, have had enough of his antics. Rigoberto Tiglao, a former presidential spokesman, wrote in The Manila Times last week that apart from using Sinophobia as a stepping stone to his delusion of becoming president in 2028, Teodoro's belligerence stems from a shocking ignorance of China's development.

Teodoro has also worked hard to squeeze the space for domestic discussions on Manila's South China Sea claims, in a bid to conceal the inherent hypocrisy of those claims.

As Wang pointed out to his Philippine counterpart, some Philippine politicians' deeds that maliciously interfere in bilateral ties are irrational and intolerable, and damage the Philippines' own international image.

Indeed, Manila has a responsibility to make sure its policy toward China reflects a rational and objective view of the situation rather than being hijacked by the theatrics of a few ill-intentioned political speculators.

Lazaro said that the Philippines attaches great importance to its relations with China, hopes to develop stable and predictable bilateral relations, remains committed to the one-China principle, and is willing to properly handle maritime issues through dialogue and consultation.

In fact, Lazaro made similar remarks when meeting with Wang in Manila in July. At the time, Wang stated quite frankly that it is unfortunate that whenever China and the Philippines prepare to launch dialogue, certain forces within the Philippines, particularly those from the military and law enforcement, deliberately stir up trouble to derail the dialogue progress.

Between the two foreign ministers' meeting in July and their latest phone call, Teodoro's behavior indicates that his wrongdoing has not been stopped; on the contrary, it has become more pronounced. At the just-concluded Association of Southeast Asian Nations defense ministers' meeting in Cebu, the Philippines, he even took regional countries' silence regarding his behavior as support, cutting a clownish figure.

If Manila truly recognizes that such a handful of bad apples are putting their own interests above those of the Philippine people, it should not turn a deaf ear to the Chinese foreign minister's advice.

As the current chair of ASEAN, the Philippines should refrain from creating turbulence in the South China Sea and work alongside other countries to actively contribute to regional peace and stability. The path of dialogue serves not only the Philippines' interests but also those of the region as a whole.

China is committed to building good neighborly ties with countries in Southeast Asia. In a positive development that highlights this, Wang co-chaired the 11th Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Beijing on Wednesday. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the first LMC Leaders' Meeting. Over the past decade, the platform has delivered over $500 billion in trade between China and the five Mekong countries and supported more than 1,000 small but smart projects.

The dialogue mechanism demonstrates the benefits of sustained engagement and shows how constructive communication can address mutual concerns and enhance cooperation.

Likewise, Tuesday's exchanges between Wang and Lazaro resonate with the broader need for coherence and respect in international interactions. The South China Sea dispute is by no means the whole of China-Philippines relations. The last thing those few Philippine politicians who seek to define the entire relationship through the dispute want to see is dialogue and cooperation between the two countries. However, their attempts to hijack ties should not be allowed to succeed.