A Comparative Study On The South China Sea Policy Of Aquino Iii Government And Duterte Government In The Philippines

There have been territorial disputes about South China Sea between the Philippines and China,but the Philippines has maintained a relatively moderate attitude towards China on the South China Sea issue.After Aquino III came to power in 2010,the South China Sea Policy of the Philippines gradually evolved,the government of Philippines constantly violated China’s territorial sovereignty,and even submitted the South China Sea issue to the international arbitration tribunal for trial.As a result,the South China Sea issue became more and more complicated and heated,which was known as an international hot issue.After Duterte came to power in 2016,the Philippines’ South China Sea policy gradually became moderate,trying to get rid of the excessive dependence on the United States,and actively sent a friendly signal to China,so that the situation in the South China Sea gradually entered a period of calm.This shows that under the leadership of the two governments since 2010,the Philippines has shown a completely different attitude towards China on the South China Sea issue.This paper attempts to solve the problem: why does the Philippines show such different South China Sea policies under the leadership of Aquino III and Duterte governments? What are the deep-seated reasons for their great differences?This paper introduces Kenneth Waltz’s analytical framework to discuss and analyze this issue from four aspects: individual policy makers,domestic politics,regional environment and international system.Combined with Noreen lipsman’s neoclassical realistic foreign policy model,this paper takes the international system as the independent variable and domestic politics(including policy makers,domestic institutions and state social relations)as the intermediary variable to clarify how the independent variable can play a further role through the intermediary variable.First of all,the personal characteristics,family environment and growth background of policy makers shape their political ideas and influence their foreign policy choices;second,domestic political forces gather to put pressure on leaders for their own interests,and leaders need to think carefully and make decisions in order to safeguard their own interests and balance the interests of all parties;third,the actions of neighboring countries and so on Finally,the degree of intervention from the United States and other major countries in the international system also increases or reduces the confidence and confidence in the foreign policy-making of a country,which affects the foreign policy-making.The South China Sea issue may not be solved quickly in the future.China should further develop political and economic exchanges with the Philippines,strengthen friendship and mutual trust,attach importance to international law,and actively respond to the judicial challenges brought about by the South China Sea issue.