President Marcos congratulating Taiwan's president-elect Lai Ching-te was only a common courtesy, and it does not mean that he was endorsing Taiwanese independence.
In an interview with 24 Oras on Tuesday, Jan. 23, Marcos defended his move to issue a congratulatory greeting to the Taiwan leader for his recent poll victory, saying he was only doing the same gesture given to him when he won the elections in 2022.
"Ako very simple lang ano ko diyan. Nung naging presidente ako, binati ako (My take on that is just simple. When I became the President, I was congratulated). So what do you do? It's just common courtesy that you do the same for them. That is really where it came from," he said.
Although, he bared that China's reaction to the gesture took him by surprise.
He was called out by China for violating the Philippines' political commitment to the foreign country and was even told to "read more books to properly understand the ins and outs of the Taiwan issue."
In the interview, Marcos reaffirmed the country's adherence to the One China Policy, stressing that it has not changed and will not change.
"The One China Policy remains in place. We have adhered to the One China Policy strictly and conscientiously since we adopted the One China Policy. And that has not changed, that will not change," the President pointed out.
"We are not endorsing Taiwanese independence. Taiwan is the province of China but the manner in which they will be brought together again is an internal matter and ang habol lang natin dito ay kapayapaan na hindi magkagulo (our only agenda here is peace and order)," he added.
In his message to Lai last Jan. 15, Marcos said the country looks forward to "close collaboration, strengthening mutual interests, fostering peace, and ensuring prosperity for our peoples in the years ahead."