No country must interfere with the Philippines' decisions in terms of bolstering its military capability as the country is no one's chess piece.
This was the Palace's response to China's call to the Philippines to “stop serving as other countries’ mouthpiece.”
"The Philippines is no one’s chess piece, we are an independent country," Palace Press Officer and Communications Secretary Claire Castro said in a briefing on Thursday, March 27.
China's statement came amid the upcoming visit of United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, which is expected to boost Manila’s defense modernization program to better prepare itself should there be conflicts in the Indo-Pacific region.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun also urged Manila to stop its "stunt for personal political agenda," stressing that "any defense or security cooperation between the Philippines and other countries should not target any third party or harm their interest, still less threaten regional peace or escalate tensions in the region.”
Malacañang pushed back on the Chinese official's statement, saying if China is indeed concerned about peace and stability in the region, it must also respect the sovereignty of each country.
Castro said the Philippines, as an independent state, must not be prevented from taking efforts in order to improve its defense capability.
"Well, if China really believes and concerned about peace and stability in the region, they should abide by the international law, they should also respect the sovereignty of each country," Castro stressed.
"So, kung anuman po ang ating gagawin, kung anuman po ang ating magiging proyekto patungkol sa ating military operations, ito po naman ay nasa atin na po. Wala pong puwedeng makialam dito. Tayo po ay independent at walang dapat manghimasok sa anuman po na desisyon ng ating pamahalaan (So, whatever we do, whatever projects we implement in terms of our military operations, this is up to us. No one must interfere with it. We are independent and no one must interfere with our government's decision)," Castro added.
Meanwhile, the Palace has yet to release further information on the expected meeting of President Marcos and Hegseth on Friday, March 28.