Jamaine Punzalan

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. reviews the troops with Chinese President Xi Jinping as they meet at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on January 4, 2023. Office of the Press Secretary handout

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CHINA-PH

Katrina Domingo

ABS-CBN News

<div><br/></div><p>MANILA — A “very, very serious restructuring” of relations with China is “certainly going to happen,” President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Tuesday, when asked if he sees a need to rethink relations with Asia’s largest economy amid geopolitical tensions.</p><p>“I think it&#x27;s certainly going to happen. I don&#x27;t think that&#x27;s something that we can, that it&#x27;s an option… it&#x27;s happening now,” Marcos Jr. told Bloomberg in an interview in Malacañang.</p><p>“There&#x27;s going to be a very, very serious restructuring,” he said.</p><p>Marcos noted that other Southeast Asian leaders shared similar views, particularly Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.</p><p>“He was saying there will be, we will have to redraw all our, even our legal relationships in terms of international law, in terms of all of these things,” the Filipino leader said.</p><p>“They will have a lasting effect, and there is, there will have to be a new normal,” he said.</p><p>Marcos did not give details about how he intended to “redraw” Manila’s relationship with Beijing, but noted that territorial issues in the West Philippine Sea could “get in the way” of talks on joint developments of oil and natural gas resources.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/business/12/01/22/marcos-ph-needs-to-find-ways-for-oil-exploration-despite-china-roadblock">Marcos: Philippines needs to find ways for oil exploration despite China dispute &#x27;roadblock&#x27; </a></div><p>“We&#x27;ve been talking about for a great deal, but the territorial disputes will get in the way of that,” he said.</p><p>“Maybe they should provide impetus for both sides to come to an agreement,” he said.</p><p>“We&#x27;ve always tried to differentiate the territorial disputes from our trade arrangements and many, many investments still of the big programs here of the government are coming from China, and they have not used this or somehow they haven&#x27;t leveraged this in any way.” </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/3/24/marcos-declares-state-of-national-energy-emergency-1927">Marcos declares state of national energy emergency</a></div><p>The Philippines earlier said that it seeks to finalize the <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/1/28/negotiations-on-s-china-sea-code-of-conduct-unlikely-to-finish-this-2026-analyst-1523">Code of Conduct in the South China Sea </a>this year as it hosts the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) Leaders’ Summit in May and in November.</p><p>Beijing has insisted that it has rights over nearly the entire South China Sea despite a 2016 arbitral ruling that invalidated its 9-dash line claim.  </p><div><iframe width="1023" height="575" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UlHjVgp-VqY" title="&#x27;State of national energy emergency&#x27; idineklara ni Marcos Jr. | TV Patrol" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><iframe width="1023" height="575" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/j1zz9qqHQ8E" title="Marcos Jr. blasts China in ASEAN summit | ANC" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>

<p>A “very, very serious restructuring” of relations with China is “certainly going to happen,” President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Tuesday, when asked if he sees a need to rethink relations with Asia’s largest economy amid geopolitical tensions.</p>

A “very, very serious restructuring” of relations with China is “certainly going to happen,” President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Tuesday, when asked if he sees a need to rethink relations with Asia’s largest economy amid geopolitical tensions.

Marcos: ‘Very serious restructuring’ of relations with China ‘certainly going to happen’

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Marcos: ‘Very serious restructuring’ of relations with China ‘certainly going to happen’

Katrina Domingo,

ABS-CBN News

Published March 25, 2026 01:00 PM PHT

Read More:

Marcos

Bongbong Marcos

Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

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