Question: when did manila become the first international meeting destination in southeast asia

title: History of Manila
text: This article 's factual accuracy may be compromised due to out - of - date information . In particular : this article reflects historical paradigms about early Philippine history which have since been refined or disproven by critical historiographers and anthropologists . Most urgently , it needs to reflect current academic consensus on the indigenous Malayo - Polynesian roots of early Philippine cultures , and the structure of thassalocratic power relations in pre-16th century Maritime Southeast Asia . It needs to be updated to reflect current scholarly consensus , as reflected in relevant peer - reviewed academic journal articles . Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information . ( July 2017 )