This article examines the complex relationship between the Philippines and China, highlighting both the historical and cultural ties and the existing tensions.
In this holiday season of peace, love and forgiveness, it is appropriate to look beyond our fences and reassess our relationship with China — the world's second-largest economy and a nuclear superpower. Filipinos often view China with suspicion and uncertainty. In the Pulse Asia survey of July 2022, Filipinos registered high trust ratings in favor of America with 89 percent approval compared to China 's 33 percent.
However, Filipinos share powerful historical and cultural connections with our Chinese neighbors. Since the 9th century, there are chronicles of trade and barter between our indigenous ancestors and Chinese merchants. Between the 16th and 19th century, many Chinese diasporas gradually migrated into the country and built enclaves like the Parian outside old Intramuros during the Spanish period. But early Filipinos and Chinese lived, traded and coexisted peacefully side by side.The Filipino bloodlines became a mixture of Malay, Indian, Spanish, American, and especially the Hokkien-speaking Chinese from southern Fujian province. There are roughly 23 million Filipinos of Chinese descent living in the country today. The Chinese-Filipinos have fully integrated within the mainstream of Philippine civilization not only in commerce but in culture, arts, education, politics, governance and even in our armed forces. Many generals and officers of Chinese ancestry fought and died for the country to defend it against foreign invaders, insurgents and terrorists, from the revolution against Spain to the continuation of our Republic. But there were also intense hostilities between our ancestors and the Chinese as well. One was the massacre of over 20,000 overseas Chinese known as the Sangley Rebellion in October 1603 led by the Spanish authorities and native forces allied with them. Another was the sea pirate and warlord Limahong's military forays into Northern Luzon and Manila in 1574. He attacked and pillaged communities and terrorized the early Spanish authoritie
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