Editor's note: Anthony Moretti, a special commentator for CGTN, is an associate professor at the Department of Communication and Organizational Leadership at Robert Morris University in the U.S. The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Robert Morris University.

Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., the president of the Philippines, would be smart to reconsider his public thoughts about China's Taiwan region. More importantly, he might want to change his mind about the island.

During his visit to India, the president reportedly said there was "no way that the Philippines could stay out" of any China-U.S. "confrontation" over Taiwan. He added that if "there is an all-out war (across the Taiwan Straits), we will be drawn into it. We will have to defend our territory and our sovereignty."

The Chinese foreign ministry did not appreciate such rhetoric; it quickly reminded Marcos and the world that the Taiwan question was a Chinese internal matter and neither he nor any other world leader should interfere in it.

Marcos' comments, perhaps made to curry favor with certain countries, crash headlong into what has been the Philippines' consistent position: its one-China principle that recognizes that Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinese territory and that China remains committed to national reunification.

Marcos complicated the matter even more by reportedly saying his country would "immediately mobilize everything" to guarantee all Philippine citizens in Taiwan are evacuated in the event of any conflict between the Chinese mainland and the Taiwan region.

China's foreign ministry had a firm reaction to that, stating that "near geographic location" and "a large amount of Filipinos in Taiwan" could not justify any interference in China's sovereign affairs. Such interference risks damaging regional peace and stability.

There is no question that Marcos has been willing to say and do whatever is necessary in order to remain in certain countries' good graces, especially now that tariffs and international economic sanctions continue to be recklessly used to compel the world to do what certain leaders want.

And yet, Marcos has received precious little in return for doing America's bidding. He left the U.S. after a recent visit with President Donald Trump "without getting much," as The Diplomat noted. The U.S. president agreed to lower the tariff on imports from the Philippines from 20 percent to 19 percent provided the Philippines further opened its market to the U.S. and also guaranteed that U.S. automobiles would not be tariffed at all.

Only the naivest would consider that a fair deal. Let's not forget that over the past couple of years, Marcos has green-lighted the construction of four new U.S. military facilities and the deployment of U.S. missile systems in the Philippines; expanded joint military exercises with the U.S.; and the creation of a U.S. ammunition factory in Subic Bay.

Apparently, all of that is worth nothing more than a one percent drop in tariffs. One wonders what Marcos would have to do in the future to warrant further largesse from Trump. Perhaps he thought that banging the anti-China drum while in India would be seen favorably by Trump? If that was his goal, there is no indication it succeeded.

A recent CNN report stated that Trump asked Marcos about his mother and sent his regards to the former First Lady of the Philippines. Today, both Imelda Marcos and her husband, former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, are remembered across the globe for corruption and abuse of power.

Of course, Trump's affinity for people who like him, and are like him, is legendary; however, he apparently dismissed whatever positive feelings he has for the Marcos family when it came to deciding the tariff the Philippines would pay.

Marcos should remember that while the U.S. practices transactional politics, China upholds win-win cooperation as an essential feature of its bilateral relationships. China remains one of the Philippines' most important trading partners and there is no reason to think that will change in the near future.

This robust trade continues despite Manila's unsettled maritime issues throughout the South China Sea. It would behoove the Philippine president to respect his country's long-held perspectives on the cross-Straits relations. He would also be wise to stop provoking additional friction with Beijing regarding the South China Sea because kowtowing to Washington will get Manila nowhere.

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