Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo said Monday he is hopeful for peace in Taiwan, even as China conducts war exercises near the island following its leader’s recent trip to the United States.
Manalo is in Washington this week to meet with Secretary of State Antony Blinken as part of the “2+2 Ministerial Dialogue”, which will also include Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, amid Manila’s preparations to open four more US military posts on its territory.
But the journey arrives as Beijing conducts it naval military exercises around the autonomous island, about a two-hour flight from Manila, following Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen recent trips to the United States, which included a meeting with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies before their meetings, Manalo saying that the Philippines was closely monitoring the situation as the autonomous island is “right next door”.
But he said he believed Beijing’s response this time around had not been as aggressive as after McCarthy’s predecessor Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan in August last year.
“Well, that really escalated the tensions,” Manalo said of Pelosi’s trip to the island that Beijing considers a rogue province. “But so far, we see that this visit is hopefully not like it was in August.”
“Hopefully, this could pave the way, let’s say, to calm the situation in the straits (and) between China and the United States a bit,” he said.
south china sea
Manalo also said peacekeeping in the South China Sea, which he often referred to as the “West Philippine Sea,” was a priority for Manila as competing claims to maritime territory are negotiated with Beijing and other claimants in Southeast Asia.
But in an apparent reference to Beijing’s unilateral moves to build coral reefs at naval bases in the disputed waters, he defended the “rules-based international order” as the fairest way to arbitrate control of the waters, but said Manila would always “defend its sovereignty.”
The Philippines was “at the heart of this seascape,” he said, and “the South China Sea, for us, is also about people,” with Filipino citizens relying on the waters for fishing. He said Manila would therefore not accept any “harassment” or “denial of access” to the waters.
“The Philippines has been clear and consistent about our interest in maintaining the South China Sea as a sea of peace and stability, and (about) our goal of increasing our defense capabilities,” he said.
Manalo meets with Blinken and Austin on Tuesday.