Taipei, Taiwan – Taiwan vowed to prevent a war with mainland China and maintain peace across the Taiwan Strait, as Taipei acknowledged that a conflict could put foreign workers, including around 180,000 Filipinos living and working on the island, at risk.
Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung said Taipei is strengthening its defenses and working with partners to deter conflict amid continued military pressure from Beijing.
“Taiwan tries very hard to maintain the status quo. It is China that tries to alter the status quo,” Lin said in a media briefing.
“We will not allow China to have any excuse to wage a possible war against Taiwan,” he added.
Lin said Taiwan’s goal is to preserve its current way of life and maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
“What Taiwan is trying to do is to protect the current way of life and not [be] ruled by the CCP regime,” he said. “This is the strongest consensus that the people of Taiwan have right now. So we are trying our best to protect and maintain the status quo.”
Filipinos at risk
Lin himself raised the potential impact of a Taiwan crisis on migrant workers from neighboring countries.
“A Taiwan emergency would be an emergency for the world,” Lin said, citing Taiwan’s importance to global semiconductor supply chains and international shipping.
He also noted statements from Philippine military officials that a Taiwan contingency would have consequences for the Philippines, “not to mention the foreign laborers or immigrants from our neighboring countries.”
Around 180,000 Filipinos live and work in Taiwan, many employed in manufacturing, electronics and semiconductor industries, as well as caregiving and other sectors.
The large Filipino community has made a potential Taiwan conflict an immediate security concern for Manila beyond the broader geopolitical rivalry between Beijing and Taipei.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has acknowledged that the Philippines could be affected by a Taiwan contingency because of the country’s proximity to the island and the large number of Filipinos there.
Marcos, however, has ruled out allowing Philippine territory to be used to launch attacks against another country in the event of a Taiwan conflict.
“No, there will be no attacks on anyone from the Philippines. The Philippines has no desire to be a belligerent nation in the region,” the president said.
“All we are concerned about is the defense of our territory and the maintenance of peace and stability in the region,” he added. “To allow an attack on anyone from the Philippines is contrary to that policy.”
The Philippines continues to adhere to the One China policy and does not maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, although Manila and Taipei maintain extensive economic and people-to-people ties.
