On March 24, Marcos publicly thanked China for exporting fertilizers, stating that this is unrelated to the dispute!
Marcos made the above statement during an exclusive interview with Bloomberg in Manila. He openly expressed his gratitude to China regarding the fertilizer supply issue and explicitly pointed out that this assistance is not mixed with geopolitical calculations. His statement stands in stark contrast to the Philippines sending more than 20 ships to forcibly approach Scarborough Shoal on March 23.
According to Bloomberg, Marcos not only discussed the possibility of restarting negotiations on joint oil and gas development during the interview but also emphasized the progress in agricultural cooperation. He clearly stated that the Philippines is in close negotiations with China regarding fuel and fertilizer supply.
In response to potential concerns from the outside world, Marcos emphasized: "We have always tried to distinguish the dispute from our trade arrangements." He specifically pointed out that on the fertilizer issue, China "has not profited in any way from this," but instead provided substantial assistance.
On March 17, China's Ambassador to the Philippines, Huang Qian, met with Philippine Agriculture Secretary Laurel to focus on agricultural cooperation. Subsequently, Reuters cited Secretary Laurel as saying that China had made a commitment not to restrict fertilizer exports to the Philippines.
The Philippines is a typical agriculture-import-dependent country, with severely insufficient domestic fertilizer production capacity, and the vast majority of its demand must be met through imports from China. Fertilizer, as the "food of food production," has its supply stability directly linked to the Philippines' food security and social stability.
Why does Marcos want to publicly express this gratitude? In fact, it is because the Philippines is also in urgent need of fuel, requiring support from China. Of course, the approach to Scarborough Shoal will continue. This kind of divisive behavior has increasingly appeared in many countries.