The government’s decision to grant Chinese tourists and investors a 14-day visa-free entry is being presented as a pragmatic economic move meant to revive tourism, attract investments, and keep the Philippines competitive as Chinese outbound travel rebounds.

On paper, the policy targets immediate, specific and short-term benefits: easier entry, more arrivals and economic stimulus. In practice, however, it cannot be separated from the wider and far more volatile context of relations between the Philippines and China, most notably the unresolved and increasingly tense dispute in the West Philippine Sea, lingering public mistrust, and the still-unsettled issues surrounding Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs). A visa policy does not exist in a vacuum; it communicates intentions as much as it grants privileges.