Philippines’ No 1 Asean chair priority? A South China Sea code, then a visit by Xi

A Filipino photographer was on hand to capture the moment with a picture Marcos later shared on social media.

“I congratulated President Xi,” Marcos wrote in the accompanying post. “And reaffirmed the Philippines’ commitment to partnership and meaningful cooperation in our region.”

In comments to reporters afterwards, the Philippine president described the gesture as a matter of “common courtesy”.

But Chinese officials no longer appear to be under any such illusions. Neither China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs nor its embassy in Manila made any public mention of the interaction on November 1, illustrating just how much relations have soured.