Huang called on the Philippines to oppose the supposed "Taiwan independence" by not giving American troops access to Philippine military bases if it "care[s] genuinely about the 150,000 OFWs" in the self-ruled island.
Marcos thought the issue was caused by mistranslation.
Huang's statement stemmed from the establishment of four new additional Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites that would give American troops access to Philippine military bases.
Marcos wants to clarify Chinese envoy's 'surprising' remarks on OFWs in Taiwan
Apr 19, 2023 06:35 AM
At a glance
President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. said he intends to talk to Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian, and clarify the latter's "surprising" statement about the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Taiwan.
Marcos said this after Huang called on the Philippines to oppose the supposed "Taiwan independence" by not giving American troops access to Philippine military bases if it "care[s] genuinely about the 150,000 OFWs" in the self-ruled island.
President Marcos (Malacañang photo) and Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian (Facebook)
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In an interview in Bulacan on Wednesday, April 19, the President said he would talk to Huang about the issue.
"I interpret it as him trying to say that you should not-- the Philippines do not provoke or intensify the tensions because it will impact badly on the Filipinos. That's how I take it," he said.
"But I will be talking to the ambassador soon, and I am sure he will be very anxious to give his own interpretation of what he was trying to say," he added.
Marcos admitted that he was "surprised" by Huang's statement but thought it could be because English was not the envoy's first language.
"I think it must have been an element yung lost in translation. English is not his first language, but I am very interested to know what is it that he meant," he said.
"We were all a little surprised, but I just put it down to the difference in language," he added.
Huang's statement stemmed from the identification of four new additional Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites that would give American troops access to Philippine military bases.
"Some tried to find excuse for the new EDCA sites by citing the safety of the 150,000 OFWs in Taiwan, while China is the last country that wishes to see conflict over the Strait because people on both sides are Chinese," he said.
Following backlash on Huang's remarks, the Chinese Embassy accused reporters of misquoting or misinterpreting the envoy and advised the public to look "at the original text of the speech."
Since then, Huang has maintained his silence over his controversial remark about OFWs in Taiwan.
Marcos has assured China that it had nothing to worry about regarding the new EDCA sites.