China – the Philippines relations in the Belt and Road Initiative cooperation framework

Abstract

This article examines Chinese-Philippine cooperation within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). This is an intriguing issue because, in 2016, many people predicted that China would exclude the Philippines from the BRI framework due to their dispute over the Scarborough Shoal. Former Philippine President Benigno Aquino III had criticized China’s South China Sea maritime expansion, but Duterte changed the country’s foreign policy in 2016. He followed China’s advice and moved forward, resolving differences between the two countries and developing a healthy bilateral relationship. This article found that the BRI framework is critical in this shift in diplomatic relations. China and the Philippines’ interdependence, as well as the shift in identity from an enemy to a partner, have both contributed to the improvement of China-Philippines relations.