Malacañang is monitoring the situation of Filipinos in Taiwan amid China's military drills in waters around the self-ruled island.
"Sa ngayon mino-monitor natin ang sitwasyon, so magre-react na lang po tayo matapos ang masusing pag-aaral at saka (Right now, we are monitoring the situation, so we will only react once we studied this, and) subject to the info that we get from that monitoring. Before that, the President will not yet issue a statement," Angeles said during a press briefing on Friday, Aug. 5.
"Tignan po natin kung ano yung pangyayari, nag-iingat po tayo dito sa mga ganitong klaseng sitwasyon (Let's see what is the situation, we're cautious in this kind of situation)," Angeles added.
China is reportedly conducting military exercises near Taiwan, following the visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan.
Angeles also said that President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has not made any statement on the tension between the United States and China, which are both long-time allies of the Philippines.
Echoing what she said on Aug. 3, Angeles said the Palace will not make statements on crucial international concerns that are not sufficiently grounded on facts, as well as on a careful assessment of
"'Pag ukol sa international relations parati po tayong nag-iingat. Ngunit suffice it to say na mino-monitor po nang matindi ang sitwasyon. Wala po tayong reaksyon o statement ukol dun (When it comes to international relations, we are always cautious. But suffice it to say that we are closely monitoring the situation. We don't have a reaction or statement on this)," she said.
Meanwhile, Angeles also said that the President has yet to divulge any agenda that he will bring up during his scheduled meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday, Aug. 6.
"We will find out after their meeting if the President decided to address the issue," she said.