Language Settings
Select Website Language

Philippines Keeps One-China Line, Banks Taiwan Cooperation

56 minutes ago

4

0

Manila reaffirmed its One-China Policy but said it can still pursue economic, cultural and functional ties with Taiwan, as China warns against a new Taipei office.

The Philippine government on Sunday restated that it formally recognizes China rather than Taiwan, while making clear that the position leaves room to build ties with Taipei. In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Manila continues to observe its One-China Policy under the 1975 Joint Communique between the Philippines and China, the agreement in which it acknowledged the government of the People's Republic of China as the only lawful government of China.

That stance, the department said, is settled, plain and unchanged. Even so, it does not stop the Philippines from working with Taiwan on economic, cultural and functional matters. The clarification came days after a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on Manila to stick to its "one China" commitment.

The department pointed to recent remarks by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, who described the Philippines and Taiwan as close neighbors with a long record of commercial dealings. Officials said they would keep using diplomacy, open lines of communication and the peaceful settlement of disputes under international law to protect national interests and support regional stability and prosperity.

The department also said it would coordinate with other agencies to safeguard the welfare of Filipinos living on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

A second office planned for Cebu

The diplomatic back-and-forth was set off by Taiwan's plans to expand its presence in the country. In a radio interview on Tuesday last week, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Taipei was getting ready to open a second representative office in the Philippines. The new post would be located in Cebu and would assist travelers and businesspeople across the central Philippines, a region popular with tourists. Lin did not name a date for the opening.

Taiwan's existing de facto mission, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, operates out of Manila. A Cebu branch would extend that footprint into a busier part of the archipelago.

Beijing responded quickly. One day after Lin's interview, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson urged the Philippines to hold to its "one China" position. Then on Wednesday last week, ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun was asked at a briefing in Beijing about the reported Cebu plan and said the effort was "doomed to fail."

Guo said the Philippines should back the "one China principle" with real actions and avoid any step that would damage relations between China and the Philippines. Manila's Sunday statement, issued in the wake of those warnings, amounted to a public balancing act: an unambiguous reaffirmation of its recognition of Beijing paired with an equally clear signal that practical cooperation with Taipei would continue.

The exchange underscores the position the Philippines occupies as one of Taiwan's nearest neighbors, tied to the island by trade and by the movement of Filipino workers, tourists and businesspeople across the strait, even as it maintains formal diplomatic ties with China.

Philippines One-China Policy, Taiwan Philippines relations, Taipei office Cebu, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, Lin Chia-lung, China Philippines relations, Taiwan Strait, Department of Foreign Affairs

Click here to Read More
Previous Article
Trump Approval Sinks to 32%, a Career Low, as Iran War Bites

Related World Updates:

Are you sure? You want to delete this comment..! Remove Cancel

Comments (0)

    Leave a comment