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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Philippines has legitimate interests in China-Taiwan relations — DFA

Philippines has legitimate interests in China-Taiwan relations — DFA

Published Mar 23, 2024 10:00 am

The Philippines is not interfering with the affairs between China and Taiwan but it has interests in the developments in the Cross-Strait relations, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Saturday, March 23.

The DFA’s remark came after China warned that it would be dangerous to implicate its internal issue with Taiwan in its maritime dispute with the Philippines.

“The issue of Taiwan is an internal matter to China,” DFA spokesperson Ma. Teresita Daza said.

“By virtue of geographic proximity and the presence of Filipinos on the island, however, the Philippines has legitimate interests in cross-Strait issues,” she added.

Daza said the Philippines continues to urge concerned parties to exercise maximum restraint.

The Philippines also called on them “to resolve issues through diplomacy and dialogue, and not through force.”

In a statement on March 20, the Chinese Embassy in Manila said that "the Taiwan question is not and should never become an issue between China and the Philippines" as it is "starkly different in nature" from the maritime differences between Beijing and Manila.

The embassy also said that its issue in the self-governing island is purely an internal affair and does not brook any external interference.

Meanwhile, the maritime differences between China and the Philippines "can be compared to (a) spat between neighbors, while the Taiwan question is completely domestic."

"Distinction between the two must not be blurred," it said.

Related Tags

Taiwan Cross-Strait relations Department of Foreign Affairs
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