The September 3 military parade in Beijing saw the presence of dozens of heads of state or their special envoys. According to earlier media reports, the Philippines, a victim of the Imperial Japan's aggression in WWII, was one of the only two countries that didn't give a timely and positive response to China's invitation for the ceremony. The other one was Japan, which is still haunted by historical revisionism 70 years after the war.

Manila has its own reasons to show reluctance about Beijing's invitation. From the perspective of the Philippine government, Japan has apologized for its crimes against the Filipinos during WWII, and is now an important strategic partner besides the US.

More importantly, Tokyo could be an ally for Manila against China in face of the simmering tensions in the South China Sea.

Some Filipinos view China as a "bully." Philippine President Benigno Aquino has twice drawn an absurd analogy between China and Nazi Germany, making bilateral relations drop to the lowest ebb.

Nonetheless, Beijing has decided to show goodwill to Manila, shelving the setbacks in bilateral ties and inviting Manila to its military parade. Both countries went through similar sufferings during WWII and have kept good relations for generations. Beijing's generosity has clearly put the Aquino administration to embarrassment.

However, fortunately, Joseph Estrada, former Philippine president and incumbent mayor of Manila, announced that he would attend the ceremony as an individual.

Estrada's decision was embraced by some Philippine media, which believed that he was able to mend the broken ties caused by Aquino's lack of diplomacy. Estrada might have irritated the Aquino administration, which, at the last minute, decided to send Philippine Ambassador to China Erlinda Basilio as representative to attend the event.

As neighbors, China and the Philippines have close relations in many ways. Besides, after fighting together against Japan's aggression seven decades ago, they should find it more worthwhile to cherish peaceful coexistence.

Although disturbed by maritime and territorial disputes, both sides should stick to some basic principles of interaction, such as negotiation on an equal footing. Manila must get rid of the remnants of the Cold War mentality, and stop antagonizing others.

In the past few years, Aquino's aggressive policy against China by pandering to the US has barely benefited the Filipinos but is about to bring back US soldiers to the old US military bases in the Philippines. More people in the Philippines are raising doubts against Aquino's policies concerning the South China Sea and China.

For example, Estrada accused the US, in an interview with Xinhua News Agency, of interfering in the internal affairs of the Philippines, and opposed Washington's military presence in the South China Sea.

Philippine Vice President Jejomar Binay, candidate for the 2016 presidential election, clearly stated his opposition to going against China, and called for dialogue with Beijing over territorial disputes. Grace Poe, a popular senator in the Philippines, although in favor of international arbitration over territorial disputes, is also skeptical of Manila's over-dependence on the US.

Bongbong Marcos, a senator and second son of former Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos, warned that the Philippines would face a life-and-death danger if it was involved in a military confrontation between China and the US, and asked the Aquino administration to consider talks with China over territorial issues.

Aquino is seeing the end of his tenure as the presidential elections are set for next year. Too many uncertainties still hover above the political arena. Whether the Philippines' China policy will see a dramatic change, which might herald a breakthrough in bilateral ties, is still unclear.

However, Manila should reconsider and try to answer a simple question, which is essential to every country's diplomacy: whether it is willing to continue serving as a stepping stone for other countries, such as the US, in diplomacy, or it is willing to make full use of its diplomatic resources for the best interests of the people and regional stability.

The author is a research fellow at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn