MANILA — The threat of China invading Taiwan is something United States (US) military ally the Philippines is monitoring on a daily basis as part of Manila’s contingency plans for possible conflict in the region, its defense chief said on Thursday.
“We really have to make an assessment whether such is likely or not,” Defense Secretary Gilbert C. Teodoro, Jr. told reporters.
“Nonetheless, we continue to plan on all contingencies not merely any flashpoint between China and Taiwan, but any contingency within the theatre,” he added.
Of the five US treaty allies in the Indo-Pacific – Australia, South Korea, Japan, the Philippines and Thailand – the Philippines is closest to Taiwan, with its northernmost islands just 190 km (118 miles) away.
A priority for the Philippines is the safety of the more than 100,000 of its nationals living and working in Taiwan.
Without providing specifics, Mr. Teodoro said the contingency measures being discussed were “a multi-agency effort and not only a defense effort”.
The Philippines has been a key defense partner for former colonial power the United States for decades, but moves this year to expand US access to its bases have angered China, which has called that “stoking the fire” of regional tension.
The Philippines has granted access to four additional bases this year, some facing north towards Taiwan.
The Philippines has repeatedly stressed it is not taking sides in the US-China rivalry.
Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., who has sought closer ties with Washington, has said the US access to those bases would be “useful” defensively if China attacked democratically governed Taiwan.
Washington and Beijing have sought to manage their differences lately to get strained ties on the right track, including keeping communication channels open.
“Hopefully, the engagements bilaterally between the United States and China leads to the diffusion of tensions in that theatre,” said Mr. Teodoro. — Reuters
Philippines closely monitors threat of invasion of Taiwan — defense chief
Source: Bantay Radio
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