President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. believes the controversial visit of United States (US) House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan merely “demonstrated the intensity” of the conflict in the Asian region.
The Chief Executive said this to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during the latter’s courtesy visit to Malacañang on Saturday, Aug. 6.
Blinken began his first day in the Philippines with the meeting, where they discussed the longstanding diplomatic ties between the two countries.
“To be perfectly candid, I did not think it raised the intensity, it just demonstrated it — how the intensity of that conflict has been,” Marcos said.
“It actually has been at that level for a good while, but we got used to it and put it aside,” he added.
READ: Marcos backs evolving PH-US relations amid tension from Pelosi’s Taiwan visit
The President also noted how international diplomacy is entirely “volatile” apart from the regional tension.
“Obviously the events in the Ukraine have been of significance, significant importance to surprisingly even countries like the Philippines which if we imagine is very far away,” Marcos said.
On Friday, China announced unspecified sanctions on Pelosi and immediate family over her trip to Taiwan this week.
The Asian giant also deployed scores of planes and fired live missiles in the waters off Taiwan a day after Pelosi’s visit.
This developed after the US House speaker claimed that the United States will "not allow" China to isolate Taiwan.
READ: Pelosi says US will ‘not allow’ China to isolate Taiwan
China considers Taiwan a renegade province, part of its own territory.
"They may try to keep Taiwan from visiting or participating in other places, but they will not isolate Taiwan by preventing us to travel there," she told reporters in Taipei.
Marcos and Blinken met in Malacañang with Executive Secretary Vic Rodriguez and US Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson.
In a statement, Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said the two officials talked about various issues involving defense and security cooperation, renewable energy, climate change mitigation, agriculture, food security, and Covid-19, among others.
She said Blinken hailed Filipino nurses in the United States, calling them "angels who are caring in so many ways.”
Also present in the meeting were Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kin Moy, Director of the Secretary of State's Policy Planning Staff Salman Ahmed, Spokesperson Ned Price, Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Thomas Sullivan, and Political Counselor Brett Blackshaw.