Romualdez: China ‘overreacting’ to Marcos’ Taiwan remarks

Metro Manila, Philippines - Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Manuel Romualdez said Beijing is “overreacting” to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s recent comments warning that the Philippines would inevitably be affected by any conflict between China and the United States over Taiwan.

“What President Marcos really meant there, basically, which has always been a concern of the Philippines and the Philippine government, are the 250,000 workers that we have in Taiwan,” Romualdez said in an interview this week. “If anything happens in Taiwan, where it is going to be some kind of a conflict, then we will have to worry about the 250,000 people that are there.”

Marcos’ comments — made in an interview with India news outlet Firstpost and in a press conference on Aug. 11 — prompted a formal diplomatic protest from Beijing, which accused the Philippine leader of “interfering in China’s internal affairs” and “playing with fire.”

Romualdez stressed that Marcos’ remarks were cautionary and grounded in humanitarian and geographic concerns, noting Taiwan’s proximity to the Philippines.

“All countries within the neighborhood will be… ready for that conflict to probably overflow,” he said. “We don’t know. But I think that was just a cautionary comment made by President Marcos. He was right in saying that we are concerned about our citizens who work in Taiwan.”

No formal Taiwan contingency talks

Romualdez said Manila and Washington have not held formal discussions on specific actions should a Taiwan conflict erupt.

“There’s not really any formal conversation about that,” he said. “The bottom line is that it is an internal matter… We have a One China policy and we’ve always pushed for a peaceful settlement of the Taiwan issue. That’s always been our stand. It will remain our stand no matter what.”

Still, he said the Philippines would call on allies, including the United States, for assistance in evacuating citizens if a crisis broke out.

“Definitely, if anything happens there, we will ask our allies… to assist us in getting all our workers out,” Romualdez said.

Asked whether Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites could be used in an evacuation, Romualdez said their use would depend on necessity and existing commitments.

“As I said, all of these things are all a question of what is necessary for our interest and at the same time the commitments that we’ve made with the United States as a regional defense treaty dictates,” he said.