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Philippines China
Philippine relations with China and Taiwan were cautious in
the 1990s. Manila's relations with Beijing were hostile in the
1950s and 1960s. The unspoken threat of Chinese aid to the New
People's Army was ever present but never materialized. By
contrast, the Filipino-Chinese business community had many
connections with relatives and partners in Taiwan. Diplomatic
relations between Manila and Beijing were opened in 1973. Since
that time, the relationship has been correct but not warm.
In 1988 Aquino visited China, met with elder statesman Deng
Xiaoping, and made a ceremonial pilgrimage to her ancestral home
and temple in Fujian Province. The closer relationship fostered
by that trip later dissipated because of Beijing's sensitivity to
what was perceived as a Philippine bias in favor of Taiwan. A
Philippine government spokesperson had inadvertently referred to
a visiting delegation from Taiwan as representatives of "the
Republic of China." The disclosure of a secret visit to Taiwan,
made by the Philippine secretary of foreign affairs, Raul
Manglapus, in October 1989, upset Beijing even more. In 1990
Aquino reaffirmed the Philippines' one-China policy, but she
reserved the right to develop trade and economic ties with
Taiwan. China, for its parts, has sought with limited success to
conduct an "oil diplomacy" with the Philippines, a country
completely dependent on imported oil. In December 1990 Aquino
welcomed the Chinese premier, Li Peng, to Manila after earlier
having suspended official contacts in the wake of the June 1989
violence around Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
Data as of June 1991
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