Philippines’ Foreign Policy Of China In The South China Sea Dispute

The core question this paper attempts to answer is: from the perspective of policy makers,what is the basis for the formulation and adjustment of China policy by the recent two Philippine governments on the South China Sea issue? In order to answer this question,this paper makes a coherent discussion on the evolution logic and supporting elements of the two presidents of the Philippines’ diplomatic decision-making towards China in the South China Sea from 2010 to the beginning of2022.Firstly,this paper combs the general logic and path of diplomatic decision-making.Diplomatic decision-making is the unity of "motivation" and "feasibility".Motivation is the embodiment of interest positioning,while "feasibility" is the embodiment of the opportunity to achieve target interests,in which "feasibility" will form a fundamental restriction on "motivation".In addition,this paper introduces the basic framework of "small countries challenging big countries",and analyzes the general strategy choice preference of small countries in the process of challenging big countries combined with "motivation" and "feasibility".Then,combined with the reality,from the perspective of Philippine policymakers,based on the policy "motivation","feasibility" and "specific strategic choice",this paper makes a detailed analysis on the strategic choice and adjustment of Aquino III government and Duterte government on China in the South China Sea,and puts forward that the strategic form of Philippine China control in the South China Sea depends on the actual interest needs,domestic political needs Comprehensive grasp of the international political environment.For the decision-makers of these two governments,the motivation of their South China Sea China control policy mainly includes the constant desire for resources in the South China Sea and domestic political needs.The decision-makers’ comprehensive research and judgment on China’s patience and the support of the United States,as well as the summary of the experience and lessons of the strategy in the previous stage,while restricting the realization of their target interests,have also become the basis for the formulation and adjustment of their South China Sea China control policy.The purpose of this paper is to summarize the practical experience and Enlightenment gained in the process of power collision,bottom line test,legal dispute and practical cooperation in the past 12 years through the research on the decision-making path of the recent two Philippine governments,so as to objectively and comprehensively look at China’s advantages and disadvantages in leading the regional development and strategic situation of the South China Sea in the future,especially at the node of successive change of governments of the United States and the Philippines,Better sum up experience,judge the situation and open up the future.