The Philippines held its national elections on Monday, and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo "Digong" Duterte was declared the winner of the presidential election. Besides the presidency, the vice-presidency, 24 Senate seats and all 286 seats in the lower house were on offer.

In the wake of the elections, Duterte’s governing ideas, tough personality, future foreign policy and even private life have made national headlines. His attitude toward China and the South China Sea issue have also drawn a lot of attention from Western media.

Duterete once opposed resolving the South China Sea issue through international arbitration, but later declared his support for arbitration. He simultaneously opposed declaring war against China and publically criticized former President Benigno Aquino III for being not tough enough on the Huangyan Island issue.

He also said previously that he would resolve the disputes over the South China Sea through multilateral negotiations with the U.S., Japan, Australia and other sovereign claimant countries if he were elected.

Duterte's wavering stance on the South China Sea issue reflects his insufficient knowledge of the issue. During his presidency, Aquino III encouraged the idea of a "China threat" to gather support for his provocation of China in the South China Sea.

Misled by their president, many Filipinos now hold a negative attitude toward China. As Mayor of Davao, Duterte had little opportunity to participate in international affairs; hence, his understanding of the South China Sea issue is not comprehensive.

It's unlikely that Duterte will disavow the current arbitration, given that the Philippines is expecting a favorable result. In such a situation, any candidate rejecting the arbitration would lose support and trigger attacks from opponents.

During a regular press conference held by China's foreign ministry on Tuesday, several questions were posed about China’s relationship with the Philippines. The answers conveyed a two-fold message. Firstly, China attaches importance to China-Philippines ties, and has made efforts to improve those ties in recent years. China is now focusing on the future relationship between the two countries. Chinese leadership believes that the traditional friendship between the two peoples should not be broken but instead cherished by both governments.

Secondly, the Philippines should adjust its policy on the South China Sea issue. China has pointed out that the recent obstacles in bilateral relations originate mainly from the Philippines' stubborn stance. China hopes to see a positive change after these elections, so that both sides can resolve the disputes in an appropriate manner.

For Duterte, it is in the interest of the Philippines to maintain a sound relationship with China. Though the country is currently maintaining relatively rapid economic growth, its development is still hindered by some roadblocks like a high poverty rate. Duterte once suggested that China to offer assistance in improving the Philippines' infrastructure; this has been also a primary focus of China's approach to bilateral cooperation in recent years.

Disputes will be resolved by the two countries seeking common ground and meeting each other halfway. If the newly elected officials in the Philippines focus on big picture foreign policy and move past the old mentality, they will undoubtedly be paving a path back to sound bilateral relations and ongoing regional development. China hopes to see the new government make the right choice.

(The author is an expert on international affairs.)

This article was edited and translated from 相向而行，中菲关系才能重回正轨，Source: People's Daily