Marcos says the Philippines will be pulled into any war over Taiwan, despite China's protest
Marcos also told a news conference that the Philippines' coast guard, navy and other vessels defending its territorial interests in the South China Sea would never back down and would stand their ground in the contested waters after the Chinese coast guard on Monday staged dangerous blocking maneuvers and used a powerful water cannon to try to drive away Philippine vessels from the hotly disputed Scarborough Shoal.
It's the latest flare-up of long-simmering territorial disputes in the busy waterway, a key global trade route, where overlapping claims between China and the Philippines have escalated in recent years. Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also lay claims to parts of the contested waters.
Relations between China and the Philippines have been severely strained after Marcos, who took office in mid-2022, and his administration emerged as some of the most vocal critics in Asia of China's increasingly aggressive actions in the South China Sea. The Marcos administration deepened its treaty alliance engagements with the United States and started broadening security alliances with other Western and Asian countries like Japan, Australia, India and some EU member states to strengthen deterrence against Beijing's assertiveness.
China protested last week and accused Marcos of interfering in its domestic affairs and violating its 'One China' policy when he told reporters on the sidelines of a visit to India that there was no way the Philippines could stay out of a possible war in Taiwan because of his country's proximity to it and the presence of about 200,000 Filipino workers on the self-ruled island. China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has repeatedly threatened to annex it, by force if necessary.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry then said through a spokesperson that ''geographic location' and a 'large volume of Filipinos' in Taiwan should not be used as pretexts to interfere in the internal and sovereign affairs of other countries' and urged the Philippines 'to earnestly abide by the One China principle' and 'refrain from playing fire on issues bearing on China's core interests.'
Asked to comment on China's protest, Marcos said he was perplexed and could not understand Beijing's concern.
'I don't know what they're talking about, playing with fire? I was just stating facts. We do not want to go to war, but I think if there is a war over Taiwan, we will be drawn, we will be pulled in whether we like it or not, kicking and screaming,' Marcos said. 'We will be drawn and dragged into that mess. I hope it doesn't happen, but, if it does, we have to plan for it already.'
Separately, Philippine Coast Guard Commodore Jay Tarriela said Chinese coast guard ships chased and staged dangerous blocking maneuvers on Monday against Philippine coast guard and fishing vessels in the Scarborough Shoal, a rich fishing atoll in the South China Sea off the northwestern Philippines. A Philippine coast guard ship managed to evade being hit by a Chinese coast guard water cannon during the melee, he said.
While chasing a Philippine coast guard vessel, a Chinese coast guard ship accidentally collided with a Chinese navy ship, Tarriela said. The Chinese coast guard ship sustained 'substantial damage' and the Philippine coast guard offered to provide help, including medical assistance, to the Chinese side, he said.
'There is no silver bullet that if you fire it, all our problems would be solved,' Marcos said. 'What will happen is, we will continue to be present, we will continue to defend our territory, we will continue to exercise our sovereign rights and despite any opposition from anyone, we will continue to do that as we have done in the past three years.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Los Angeles Times
27 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Trump's nod to Europe on a future peace force for Ukraine vastly improves its chances of success
BRUSSELS — The greenlight given by President Trump on U.S. backup for a European-led force to police any future peace agreement in Ukraine vastly improves the likelihood it might succeed. European leaders said Trump offered his backing during a call they held ahead of his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday. The effectiveness of the operation, drawn up by the so-called coalition of the willing of around 30 countries supporting Ukraine, hinges on U.S. backup with airpower or other military equipment that European armed forces do not have, or only in short supply. EU leaders regularly have underlined how the United States is 'crucial' to the success of the security operation dubbed Multinational Force Ukraine. But the Trump administration has long refused to commit, perhaps keeping its participation on hold as leverage in talks with Russia. After a meeting Wednesday between Trump and European leaders, European Council President Antonio Costa welcomed 'the readiness of the United States to share with Europe the efforts to reinforce security conditions once we obtain a durable and just peace for Ukraine.' French President Emmanuel Macron said Trump had insisted NATO must not be part of these security guarantees, but the U.S. leader agreed 'the United States and all the (other) parties involved should take part.' 'It's a very important clarification,' Macron said. Trump did not publicly confirm he would allow U.S. backup, and no details of possible U.S. support were made public, but U.S. Vice President JD Vance sat in on the coalition meeting for the first time. More than 200 military planners have worked for months on ways to ensure a future peace should the war, now in its fourth year, finally halt. Ukraine's armed forces also have been involved, and British personnel have led reconnaissance work inside Ukraine. The exact size of the force has not been made public, although Britain has said it could number 10,000 to 30,000 troops. It must be enough to deter Russian forces, but also of a realistic size for nations that shrank their militaries after the Cold War and are now rearming. The 'reassurance' force's mission 'will be to strengthen Ukraine's defenses on the land, at sea, and in the air because the Ukrainian Armed Forces are the best deterrent against future Russian aggression,' U.K. Defence Secretary John Healey told lawmakers last month. 'It will secure Ukraine's skies by using aircraft,' Healey said, 'and it will support safer seas by bolstering the Black Sea Task Force with additional specialist teams.' Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey launched that naval force a year ago to deal with mines in Black Sea waters. The force initially will have its headquarters in Paris before moving to London next year. A coordination headquarters in Kyiv will be involved once hostilities cease and it deploys. European efforts to set up the force have been seen as a first test of the continent's willingness to defend itself and its interests, given Trump administration warnings that Europe must take care of its own security and that of Ukraine in future. Still, U.S. forces clearly provide a deterrent that the Europeans cannot muster. Details of what the U.S. might contribute were unknown, and Trump has changed his mind in the past, so it remains to be seen whether this signal will be enough to persuade more countries within the coalition to provide troops. Greece has publicly rejected doing so. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said last month that those discussions were 'somewhat divisive' and distracted from the goal of ending the war as soon as possible. Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has said Rome won't contribute troops, but she previously has underlined the importance of working with the U.S. on ending the conflict and called for the participation of an American delegation in force coordination meetings. Cook writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Emma Burrows in London contributed to this report.
28 minutes ago
The EU urges China to lift 'unjustified' sanctions on Lithuanian banks
VILNIUS, Lithuania -- The European Union on Thursday called on China to revoke sanctions imposed on two Lithuanian banks, arguing there is no justification for them. Beijing announced the measures this week against Urbo Bank and Mano Bank in retaliation for EU penalties on two Chinese lenders. The Lithuanian banks do not operate in China, giving Beijing's move a largely symbolic character. Nonetheless, the tit-for-tat measures underscore deepening tensions between the EU and China over Beijing's support for Russia in its war on Ukraine. In this case, China targeted banks from an EU member with whom diplomatic ties have been particularly strained due to Lithuania's relationship with Taiwan. At EU headquarters in Brussels, European Commission spokesperson Olof Gill defended the bloc's sanctions on Chinese banks. China 'must respect the problems we have identified,' Gill said. 'Our sanctions are the centerpiece of our efforts to minimize the effectiveness of the Russian war machine.' He said the Commission does not believe that the Chinese countermeasures 'have any justification or are evidence based, and therefore we call on China to remove them even now.' The EU's latest Russia sanctions package, adopted in July and effective August 9, included Heihe Rural Commercial Bank and Heilongjiang Suifenhe Rural Commercial Bank. The bloc accused them of providing crypto-asset services that help Moscow evade restrictions. In explaining its sanctions on the Lithuanian banks, the Chinese Ministry said the EU sanctions on Chinese firms had "a serious negative impact on China-EU economic and trade relations and financial cooperation.' The banks and the government in Lithuania said the sanctions were not expected but would likely have little practical impact. 'According to the preliminary assessment, this decision will not have a significant impact on either the country's financial system or the activities of the banks themselves, since the business models of the mentioned banks are focused on the local market,' the Bank of Lithuania said on Wednesday in a statement. Marius Arlauskas, the head of administration of Urbo Bank, said: 'Since we do not have any business partnerships with Chinese individuals or legal entities, the sanctions will have no impact on the activities of Urbo Bank and the implementation of prudential regulations." The Baltic nation has drawn China's ire for years. Beijing expelled Lithuania's ambassador in 2021 in response to Lithuania allowing Taiwan to open a liaison office in Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital. China regards Taiwan as a breakaway province and prohibits other countries from having formal ties with Taipei. Taiwan has long sought closer relations with the Baltic states, citing their past experiences under authoritarian rule and embrace of multiparty democracy and liberal values. severing of two undersea data cables. One runs under the Baltic Sea between Lithuania and Sweden.
Washington Post
28 minutes ago
- Washington Post
The EU urges China to lift 'unjustified' sanctions on Lithuanian banks
VILNIUS, Lithuania — The European Union on Thursday called on China to revoke sanctions imposed on two Lithuanian banks, arguing there is no justification for them. Beijing announced the measures this week against Urbo Bank and Mano Bank in retaliation for EU penalties on two Chinese lenders.
