No reason not to improve ties with Taiwan: Manila

The Philippine government on Sunday reaffirmed its long-held stance that it diplomatically recognizes China, rather than Taiwan, but said that position does not prevent it from pursuing relations with Taipei.

“The Department of Foreign Affairs reaffirms the Philippines’ adherence to its One-China Policy, in accordance with the 1975 Joint Communique between the Philippines and China, in which the Philippines recognized the government of the People’s Republic of China as the sole legal government of China,” the Philippine department said in a statement.

While that policy remains consistent, clear and unchanged, it “does not preclude the Philippines from pursuing economic, cultural and functional cooperation with Taiwan,” it said.

A plaque bearing the name and logo of the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs is pictured at its headquarters in Manila in an undated photograph.

Photo: Screen grab from the department’s Facebook page

Citing a recent comment by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, it said the Philippines and Taiwan are close neighbors with a long history of business.

“Consistent with this mandate, the Department will continue to rely on effective diplomacy, open communication, and the peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international law to advance the national interest and promote peace, stability, and prosperity in the region and beyond,” it said.

“Together with other relevant agencies, the Department will continue to ensure the welfare of Filipinos on both sides of the Taiwan Strait,” it added.

The statement was released after a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson last week urged Manila to adhere to its “one China” stance.

The Chinese statement was made one day after Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said in a radio interview on Tuesday last week that Taipei was preparing to open a second representative office in the Philippines.

The new office in Cebu would serve travelers and businesspeople in the central Philippines, a popular tourism destination, Lin said, but he did not give an opening date.

The current de facto Taiwanese representative office in the Philippines — the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office — is in Manila.

On Wednesday last week, when Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Guo Jiakun (郭嘉昆) was asked during a news briefing in Beijing to comment on Taiwan’s reported plan to open a new office in the Philippines, he said it was “doomed to fail.”

The Philippines should uphold “the ‘one China principle’ through concrete actions and refrain from doing anything that would harm China-Philippines relations,” he said.