Beijing has warned Manila to stop “playing with fire” after the Philippine president said on a trip to India that his country would “have to get involved” if a China-US conflict arose in the Taiwan Strait.
In an interview with Indian media outlet Firstpost on Wednesday, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr said: “To be very practical about it, if there is confrontation over Taiwan between China and the United States, there is no way that the Philippines can stay out of it simply because of our physical, geographic location.”
The Chinese foreign ministry protested on Friday, saying such rhetoric violated international laws and undermined regional peace, stability and the fundamental interests of the people.
The Taiwan issue was an internal affair and “no external interference is tolerated”, the ministry said.
Beijing views Taiwan as part of China to be reunified by force if necessary. Most countries, including the Philippines and the US, do not recognise the island as independent. However, Washington opposes any unilateral change to the status quo and is committed to supplying arms to Taipei.
“The Philippines is reneging on its promises, disregarding the consequences, persistently engaging in erroneous and provocative words and actions, continuously undermining and hollowing out the one-China principle, and damaging China-Philippines relations,” the foreign ministry said.
“We urge the Philippines to strictly abide by the one-China principle ... and to refrain from playing with fire on issues concerning China’s core interests.
“It must be further emphasised that ‘geographical proximity’ or ‘a large diaspora community’ is no excuse for any country to interfere in another’s internal affairs or encroach on its sovereign matters.”
About 200,000 Filipinos live in Taiwan, according to the Manila Economic and Cultural Office, the Philippines’ de facto embassy on the island. In his interview, Marcos referred to these residents as another reason for his country to get involved if a conflict broke out across the Taiwan Strait.
“That would immediately be a humanitarian problem, because we will have to get involved, because we will have to go in there, or find a way to go in there and to bring our people home,” Marcos said.
Tensions have escalated between Beijing and Manila in recent years over their continuing disputes in the South China Sea.
Amid the all-out rivalry between Beijing and Washington, the Philippines has also strengthened its security and defence alliance with the US and increased its ties with Taipei – further worsening relations with the Chinese mainland.
In April, Marcos eased a 38-year travel restriction to allow most of the country’s government officials to visit Taiwan. Days later, Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said the Philippines Navy was in talks with Taipei over joint naval patrols in the Luzon Strait.
The interview, with television channel TaiwanPlus News, was the first time that a senior Philippine military official had acknowledged potential cooperation with Taipei – though Trinidad later clarified that he was referring to “international cooperation”.
That did not stop a frustrated Beijing from summoning Manila’s ambassador Jaime FlorCruz to lodge “solemn representations over a series of negative moves recently made by the Philippines concerning Taiwan and security-related issues”.
Ahead of Marcos’ trip to New Delhi, the Philippines and India conducted their first joint naval exercises near the contested Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on Sunday and Monday.
At the same time, the People’s Liberation Army carried out “routine patrols” in the strategic waterway, which it said were in response to joint patrols organised between the Philippines and “non-regional countries”.
Meanwhile tensions appeared to flare up on other fronts.
On Friday, Beijing’s embassy in Manila said it had lodged further representations following the detention of nine Chinese citizens on July 14 by a special task force in Bulacan province in the central Luzon region of the Philippines.
According to Philippine news outlet GMA News Online, the special task force is under investigation for alleged irregular operations.
The embassy urged local authorities to conduct a thorough investigation and ensure a “safe, fair, and non-discriminatory” environment for Chinese nationals living and working in the country. - SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
