The Department of National Defense (DND) has cautioned China for issuing “provocative rhetoric” related to efforts by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to increase its presence in Batanes, the country’s northernmost province that is less than 200 kilometers from Taiwan.

DND spokesperson Director Arsenio Andolong said China has no right to dictate what the Philippines intends to do in its own backyard since it is an independent country.

“The Defense Department stresses that Batanes is Philippine territory and China has no business warning the Philippines about what it does within its territory,” Andolong said on Saturday, Feb. 10.

“China should refrain from engaging in provocative rhetoric and activities if it truly wants to earn the widespread trust and respect that it is trying so hard to gain but has, so far, been unable to,” he added.

Andolong further stressed that part of the mandate of the DND is to secure the sovereignty of the state and integrity of the national territory as enshrined in the Philippine Constitution.

“As such, we are pursuing a Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept (CADC) to address our vulnerabilities and enhance our capability to defend our national interest through certain long term plans, which include upgrades in our facilities and deployment of personnel,” he stated.

The issue stemmed from the reaction of Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin to DND Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr.’s directive to the AFP to fortify the military and defense outposts in the northern frontier, Mavulis Island in Batanes, when he visited the province last Feb. 6.

Batanes is facing Taiwan, a self-ruled island claimed by China, in the northern most part of the Philippines. The two countries are separated by the Bashi Channel, an international sea lane.

Wang said that the Taiwan issue “is at the heart of China’s core interests” and is a “red line and bottom line that must not be crossed.”

Wang went on to issue a veiled threat when he told “relevant parties in the Philippines” to “tread carefully and don’t play with fire” so as to “avoid being manipulated and eventually hurt.”

Relatedly, the AFP and its counterpart from the United States, which has committed to support Taiwan in case of an invasion, conducted a Maritime Cooperative Activity (MCA) marked by a joint patrol in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) from Feb. 9 to 10, the third time they did so since November last year.

Commodore Roy Vincent Trinidad, Philippine Navy spokesperson for West Philippine Sea, said that Chinese vessels, including a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy ship, made its presence felt during the MCA.

“We received a report that there was a PLA Navy [ship] but we cannot determine if it was a frigate, corvette or whatever. Nevertheless, if we have an activity with the US or other navies, China is always there,” Trinidad said in a radio interview over DZRH on Sunday, Feb. 11.

The navy official also echoed the DND’s pronouncement that China should not meddle with the internal military affairs of the Philippines.

“China has no right to interfere whatever plans the Philippines, or any country for that matter, has for their defense and security posture. These are not done to antagonize anybody because as stated in our Constitution, we are not in favor of using the instrument of war in our foreign policy,” Trinidad said.