Anti-China political farces in the Philippines: Corruption in disguise

When a Chinese naval vessel rescued 174 Filipino fishermen in the South China Sea recently, this act of humanitarian assistance should have been taken as maritime goodwill. Instead, it was seen as a thorn by anti-China forces in the Philippines. Under persistent instigation by individuals such as Jay Tarriela, spokesperson of the Philippine Coast Guard on the "West Philippine Sea", officials from both countries were drawn into a month-long war of words.

This is not the first time, nor will it be the last, that anti-China politicians in the Philippines have undermined China-Philippines relations under the guise of "protecting national interests" and "upholding democracy and freedom of speech". Behind each such anti-China political farce lies a simple question: who truly benefits, and who ultimately pays the price?

Coast Guard officials who make inflammatory statements often attract disproportionate attention. Despite China's ironclad evidence, Tarriela has only further cemented his identity as a spreader of disinformation and a pawn for anti-China forces. When confronted with China's account of rescuing Filipino fishermen, he falsely claimed that the Philippine Coast Guard had not received relevant information — a lie later exposed by audio recordings released by the Chinese embassy. Publicly lying to incite anti-China sentiment, then covering them up with bigger lies, appears to be the modus operandi of the Philippines' youngest commodore under his so-called "transparency initiative".

Statistics show that in 2025 alone, Tarriela posted 195 Facebook entries attacking and smearing China, seemingly his sole line of "work". For him, attention and social media traffic clearly matter far more than truth and facts. Rather than being "slapped in the face", Tarriela uses such opportunities to seize attention and build his reputation. Since late last year, Tarriela has become a media favorite in the Philippines, frequently making headlines, giving interviews, and appearing on live broadcasts, cultivating the image of an "anti-China hero". Through these recent episodes, he has accumulated considerable political capital and laid the groundwork for his next promotion.

This pattern also helps explain the logic behind the Philippine military and police budget's continuous growth over the past three years. How is so-called "military modernization" justified? The answer from senior Philippine military and police officials is simple: "The louder the complaint, the bigger the budget." By merely portraying China as an imaginary enemy, they can obtain more funding and assistance.

Data from the Philippine Department of Budget and Management reveal that the defense budget has seen near or double-digit growth for four consecutive years, skyrocketing from 224.4 billion pesos in 2022 to 430.9 billion pesos in 2026, with its share of the national budget rising from 4.5 percent to 6.3 percent. Since 2023, US-Philippines security cooperation has also intensified: the US has provided multiple military assistance packages, expanded military bases in the country, approved arms sales, and proposed the construction of the dual-use "Luzon Economic Corridor". Against this backdrop, the US Congress approved the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, which will provide the Philippines with a total of $3.5 billion in defense assistance.

It is evident, therefore, that by stirring up trouble in the South China Sea, the Philippine military and police departments have reaped substantial benefits.

Anti-China politicians who pour fuel on the fire also reap political benefits. Beyond the military and police, certain political forces in the Philippines with ulterior motives are also leveraging China-bashing for personal gain, with the Akbayan Citizens' Action Party being a prime example. In 2023, the party's chairperson, Rafaela David, co-founded a civil organization named "Atin Ito", which was masqueraded as a so-called "defender of national sovereignty" and has organized a series of provocative activities in the South China Sea. These include deploying buoys, conducting illegal resupply missions, and staging "civilian" rights protection activities. In the latest events, the Akbayan Party has once again played a supporting role.

Since January, David has repeatedly issued statements supporting Tarriela and calling for the revocation of the newly implemented visa-free policy for Chinese tourists. The party's senator, Risa Hontiveros, first wrote to Philippine Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro urging "action", then took the floor during a Senate plenary session to condemn the Chinese Embassy's legitimate response. Over the past three years, the Akbayan Party, by exploiting extreme positions, has misled a portion of voters, transforming itself from a party once fading from Congress to a "top-tier" small party with some 2.78 million votes and three seats in the 2025 midterm elections.

Since mid-last year, Hontiveros has begun campaigning for the 2028 presidential election, declaring she is "open to any possibility." For such anti-China forces, manipulating populist sentiment, courting voter attention, and stirring up disputes have become tools for their political ascent.

Yet behind these gains, it is ordinary Filipinos who ultimately pay the price. The economic consequences have gradually become apparent. Prolonged tensions in China-Philippines relations have led foreign investors to adopt a wait-and-see attitude toward the Philippines. From January to October 2025, the Philippines' foreign direct investment decreased by 25 percent year-on-year. The latest figures show that the country's fourth-quarter economic growth slowed to only 3 percent, the lowest in five years.

A similar pattern can be found in the Philippines' pillar industries such as tourism. In 2019, the Philippines received 8.26 million tourists, with tourism accounting for 12.7 percent of the country's total economic output. After the pandemic, as Chinese tourists returned in growing numbers, tourism in Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam gradually recovered. In contrast, direct flights between China and the Philippines have plummeted from more than 300 per week to just 84, while the number of Chinese tourists has dropped from over 3 million annually to less than 300,000.

The newly announced visa-free policy for Chinese tourists could have been an opportunity for recovery. However, if it is scrapped under pressure from anti-China politicians, the revival of Philippine tourism will be pushed even further out of reach.

Corruption is a deep-seated problem that the Filipino people have long resented. It typically involves public officials abusing power for personal gain, which include both economic benefits and other advantages. Since August last year, various sectors of Philippine society have launched multiple demonstrations and protests, denouncing corruption such as "ghost flood control projects". While economic corruption is rightly condemned, the anti-China farces disguised in the language of patriotism represent a more serious form of corruption, where actors reap funding and career prospects at the cost of ordinary citizens' livelihoods and well-being.

The Filipino public needs to see through the political scheming behind such acts and curb the absurd behavior of anti-China politicians, so as to restore integrity to domestic politics and peace and stability in the South China Sea. Only then will China and the Philippines be able to return to dialogue and cooperation, and Filipinos can break free from paying the bill for such costly political theatrics.

The author is a scholar of Peking University. The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

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