China has said that it is "obvious" that the United States is using the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites in the Philippines to interfere in the internal affairs between China and Taiwan.
The Chinese Embassy in Manila on Monday night, Sept. 9, made such a claim, saying that Washington is doing so "at the expense of the peaceful development of the Philippines and the region."
The embassy said that the US is responsible for supposedly using Taiwan to contain China.
"Of the four new EDCA sites opened by the Philippines to the United States, three are located in the northern part of Luzon, just 'across the sea' from Taiwan, and one of which is only 400 kilometers away from Taiwan," it argued.
China warned that it would not be afraid to renounce the use of force and it is reserving the option of taking all necessary measures, if it is to guard itself "against external interference and the very small number of separatist elements and their secessionist activities."
The embassy also said that if the Philippines is "concerned about peace and stability over the Taiwan Strait, it should abide by the one-China principle and UNGA Resolution 2758."
Manila must also "unequivocally oppose the independence of Taiwan and support China’s reunification, instead of cooperating with the US strategy of 'using Taiwan to contain China,'" it added.
"The Taiwan question is entirely China’s internal affairs, and how to solve it is a matter for the Chinese people on the two sides of the Taiwan Strait," it said.
"China is the last country in the world to wish for a conflict across the Strait," it added.
Taiwan-PH relations
Although both countries have economic relations, the embassy said that the Philippines still recognizes the One-China principle, that is there is only one Chinese government.
"On June 9, 1975, the then Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. signed in Beijing the Joint Communiqué on the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the Philippines," it said.
"In this Communiqué, the Philippine Government recognizes the Government of the People’s Republic of China as the sole legal government of China," it added.
Issues between China and Taiwan are "purely domestic," according to the embassy.
Therefore, "the Taiwan question is not and should never become an issue between China and the Philippines."
"Any attempt to implicate the Taiwan question in the maritime disputes between China and the Philippines is dangerous," it added.