Philippines says no intention of interfering in China’s affair with Taiwan

MANILA: The Philippines has no intention of interfering in China’s affairs with Taiwan, officials have said, after Beijing’s ambassador to Manila accused the Southeast Asian nation of fueling regional tensions by expanding military base access to the US.

Manila recently granted the US entry to four more locations in strategic areas of the Philippines, with three of the new sites facing north toward Taiwan and one near an island in the disputed South China Sea.

Under its 2014 Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement, Washington now has access to a total of nine military sites in the country. The development comes at a time of growing geopolitical tension over self-ruled Taiwan and concerns over China’s conduct in the resource-rich waterway Beijing claims almost in its entirety.

“The National Security Council wishes to clarify that the Philippines has no intention of interfering in the Taiwan issue and will not allow itself to be used by other countries to interfere in the said issue,” NSC spokesperson, assistant director-general Jonathan Malaya, said in a statement issued on Saturday.

Increased security cooperation between Manila and Washington was “meant to develop the capabilities” of the Philippine military, Malaya said. “We observe the One China policy and subscribe to the Asean principle of non-interference in approaching regional issues,” he added. “Our primary concern in Taiwan is the safety and well-being of the more than 150,000 Filipinos living and working on the island, and we take grave exception to any effort by guests in our country to use this to fearmonger and intimidate us.”