Metro Manila, Philippines – China has summoned the Philippine Ambassador to Beijing over what it described as Manila’s “recent negative moves” concerning Taiwan, including the Philippine government’s updated policy allowing more officials to travel to the island for trade and economic engagements.
According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Liu Jinsong, director-general of its Department of Asian Affairs, met with Ambassador Jaime FlorCruz to lodge “serious representations” and convey strong opposition to actions and remarks Beijing believes undermine the one-China principle.
Diplomatic sources told NewsWatch Plus the meeting took place Tuesday (April 29) morning.
China has objected to the Philippines’ revised travel guidelines, which now allow most government officials, except for the president, vice president, foreign secretary, and defense secretary, to visit Taiwan for economic and trade-related purposes using regular passports, without prior clearance from the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Beijing maintains that such moves, along with broader statements from Philippine officials, are inconsistent with its one-China stance, which views Taiwan as an inseparable part of Chinese territory.
On the same day, Philippine Navy spokesperson Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad was quoted in an interview with Taiwan News Plus, stating that the Philippine and Taiwanese navies had engaged in “unofficial and informal” interactions and were “one step away” from closer cooperation, including possible joint patrols in the Luzon Strait. He later issued a clarification, saying he was referring to international cooperation in general and not to any specific joint patrols between the Philippines and Taiwan.
Following these developments, the Chinese Embassy in Manila released a separate statement reiterating its firm stance on the Taiwan issue, warning Manila against any form of official interaction with Taipei.
“Taiwan is a province of China and an inalienable part of Chinese territory,” the embassy said. “The Taiwan question is at the core of China’s core interests.”
The embassy also cautioned Filipino officials against making provocative statements, asserting that those “who play with fire will perish by it.”
China emphasized that adherence to the one-China principle is the “political bedrock of China-Philippines relations” and warned it would not tolerate actions that challenge this position.
Open communication
Meanwhile, in a separate statement on Wednesday, April 30, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Manila continues to engage with Beijing through diplomatic means.
“The Philippines and China maintain open lines of communication through regular diplomatic channels, and our exchanges are sustained and constant,” the DFA said. “The two sides regularly exchange frank views over various issues, including on Taiwan, through these channels, and will continue to do so.”
