The paper introduces an important but hitherto （at least in Chinese Studies） neglected crossroad and commercial centre of the early modern world，Manila in the Philippines. In the 17th century，Manila became a bridge between three oceanic worlds：the Indian，the Pacific and the Atlantic. In their global connecting functions，Chinese settlers in Manila played a key role as a trigger for a new kind of trading process，one that transformed the Philippine archipelago’s social landscape. This article investigates the development of this migratory Chinese presence during its first century，as well as the dissemination of the Chinese presence to other places in the Philippines，as it became an early diasporic phenomenon positioned between a type of synergic cooperation and an open，violent conflict with the Spanish. As such，it had both intercultural and local impacts （fiscal，legal，urban，cultural，etc.）.