The country is being branded as a province of China by a mere beauty product which is probably dirt cheap and below minimum quality standard and has surely not passed all the necessary requirements to be admitted to the domestic market in the Philippines. This beauty product must have originated from an ignorant company back in China.
I would have dismissed this case outright as a nuisance if not with the political, economic, and affairs relating to international relations which are being hotly and divisively debated not just within the country or the region but within the whole world.
If I'm not mistaken, the leaders of the country current and past have been generally friendly with China although the relationship seemed to blossom a lot when the current administration started to treat the USA and the EU more of enemies rather than friends. It strategically positioned China as the apple of the eye of this poor forsaken country. From then on, all hell breaks loose.
We do not lack warnings and evidences and yet we still continue to allow ourselves to be showered with Chinese economic graces which we surely knew to be traps. While I question the capabilities of our leaders, I question more their nationalism and moral courage to steer this impoverished nation.
Dr. Mahathir of Malaysia was able to cancel at least $22.3 billion worth of China-funded projects in his country knowing full well that the acceptance of the same will drown them with Chinese debt they cannot afford to repay. This debt trap is what he calls as "new version of colonialism." Alas, the brave leaders of our country do not have the balls to do just this.
Many politicians and government officials do not have deep knowledge about the resilience of a country and are less careful in comparing potentials with threats. This could be due to exploiting personal interests and sacrificing the interests of groups or officials who do not have knowledge and experience.
China, which was showing its sharp power through the 5.0 colonialization, was actually greeted with warm hugs by many countries in the world, especially those who took financing from China in the OBOR program. What China is doing is copying exactly what America did when it moved its production lines to China in the 1990s. Who would have thought that a country that was originally known for its "imitating country" is now considered a great power and has the value of challenging America, and has even begun to shift America's dominance in trade and financing.
This is inseparable from Xi who is considered the father of innovation and continues to fight against the world. Xi has fired hundreds of thousands of corrupt party members and executed thousands of officials convicted of corruption. China also provides freedom in developing the economy for every Chinese citizen, with no rule. Even in the 1990s when economic reforms were carried out, copying was mandatory. Xi's Principle is against all world rules, and make his own rules boldly.
Forms of business in China tend to be heavy on state capitalism, the private sector is given the freedom to do business at home, but abroad is controlled by state-owned enterprises, which incidentally work for the Chinese communist party. China has a hegemony that is applied during the management of the region based on their economic strength, "economic approach". The countries that all are looking for are the same, namely countries that have raw materials, energy and a large population.