The Philippines won’t meddle into the sovereignty issue involving China and Taiwan, the National Security Council (NSC) insisted, as it denounced the recent remarks of Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian concerning the welfare of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

(L-R) (Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian and National Security Adviser Eduardo Año / Photo by National Security Council) Asst. Director General Jonathan Malaya, NSC spokesperson, said the country subscribes to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) principle of non-interference in approaching regional issues even as it “observes” the One China Policy, a principle which claims Taiwan is part of China.

“The National Security Council wishes to clarify that the Philippines has no intention of interfering in the Taiwan issue and will not allow itself to be used by other countries to interfere in the said issue as claimed by the Chinese Ambassador in the Philippines in a forum in Manila,” Malaya said on Saturday night, April 15.

“Our primordial concern in Taiwan is the safety and well-being of the more than 150,000 Filipinos living and working on the island and we take grave exception to any effort by guests in our country to use this to fear monger and intimidate us,” he added.

Huang, at a forum in Manila on April 14, advised the Philippine government to “unequivocally oppose ‘Taiwan independence’ rather than stoking the fire” by giving the United States access to AFP bases near Taiwan “if it cares genuinely about the 150,000 OFWs.” 

China and US are clashing as the former insists that Taiwan is part of its territory, while the latter committed to defend the self-ruled island in case of an invasion.

The national government recently announced the establishment of four additional Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) to accelerate the implementation of the 2014 security pact which allows the US to rotate its troops and preposition its equipment in AFP bases. Two of the EDCA sites will be at the Naval Base Camilo Osias and Lal-lo Airport in Cagayan province, which is facing Taiwan up north.

According to Malaya, National Security Adviser (NSA) Eduardo Año already made the Council’s position that the increased cooperation between the Philippines and United States is meant to develop and strengthen the capabilities of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). 

He said this will enable the AFP to protect and defend the territory of the Philippines, and “is not meant to contain or counter any nation in the region or to interfere in another nation’s affairs.”

Last April 12, Año and Huang held a meeting and the NSA explained that the choice of EDCA sites was in accordance with the Strategic Basing Plan of the AFP.

“These were not US-directed but identified by our armed forces,” Malaya stressed. “By developing our military and base infrastructure, we are pursuing our national interest and actually contributing to regional peace and stability.”

“We hope that the People’s Republic of China will see this as the country’s positive contribution towards peace and stability in the region,” he added.