Amid the disputes, Philippine legislators are preparing for a retaliatory trade war by calling for a boycott on Chinese-made goods.

On Monday, House minority leader Danilo Suarez suggested to congress a resolution to impose "a simple economic sanction on China". His proposed move would likely involve a review of all the goods and services the Philippines imports from China. Other congressmen are pushing for punitive new taxes aimed at pricing China-made goods out of local markets.

The latest official trade figures in the Philippines show that China is the country’s third-largest export market. Last year, the Philippines notched an over 1 billion US dollar trade surplus with China. The Philippine’s business community and media have expressed their worries due to trade and investment linkages.