I'd argue that China isn't playing very smart and could be taken advantage of. They have these big infrastructure companies that want to stay busy. They are offering financing in soft currency. The Philippines will be paying off them in devalued money. And if there is a big enough crisis , they can just default. Like Thailand did in 1997. Thailand got a lot of good infrastructure out of the 90's boom and they didn't have to fully pay for it.
China's companies work fast and can get the job done. Seriously. The Philippines is suffering. It's half the country Thailand is , in my opinion.