Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 17) — A security expert said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. could have taken a different approach to recognize the victory of Taiwan’s new chief executive so as not to offend China.
Speaking to CNN Philippines’ The Source on Wednesday, national security and international studies expert Rommel Banlaoi said that Marcos should have kept quiet or issued a safer message for Taiwan’s President-elect Lai Ching-te.
“It would have been better if he kept mum on the situation or maybe frame a more politically sensitive statement in order to express his feelings towards Taiwan but at the same time not offending the sensitivities of China considering that the Philippines continues to maintain a One-China Policy where we recognize only one China and affirming that Taiwan is a province of mainland China,” he explained.
In his congratulatory message for Taiwan’s pro-sovereignty leader, Marcos said on X (formerly Twitter): “We look forward to close collaboration, strengthening mutual interests, fostering peace, and ensuring prosperity for our peoples in the years ahead.”
This appears to have infuriated China, which even warned the Philippine president not to “play with fire” when it comes to matters involving Taiwan. The Chinese Embassy noted Marcos is the only head of state to issue such a message among 182 countries with diplomatic relations with the East Asian superpower.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told Marcos to “read more to develop a proper understanding of the ins and outs of the Taiwan question and come to a right conclusion.” She also urged the Philippines to earnestly abide by the One-China Policy.
The Chinese government has also summoned Philippine Ambassador Jaime FlorCruz following Marcos’ statement.
Banlaoi said such statements from Beijing show it is furious, even to the point of insulting Marcos.
While there was no intention to violate the One-China principle, the expert said the problem is how Beijing interpreted the message in a very negative way.
“More alarming to me is it interprets the tweet as an interference to the internal affairs of China because for China, Taiwan is not an international affair. Taiwan is an internal affair,” he added.
Banlaoi said what Manila should do now is to have a serious discussion with Beijing to clarify its intention.
“Our intention is to sustain our friendly relationship with Taiwan not only because we consider Taiwan as an important trade partner of the Philippines and commercial partner of the Philippines but because also we need Taiwan cooperation in order to continue the protection of our 200,000 overseas Filipino workers,” he added.
