China says Philippines ‘stoking fire’ of Taiwan tensions with US military base deal
- Ambassador Huang Xilian said Manila’s move to give the US access to new sites near the Taiwan Strait ‘has caused grave concern among Chinese people’
- He also accused Washington of using the bases to advance its ‘anti-China agenda’ at the expense of the region
While Manila has adhered to the one-China principle, the Chinese ambassador to the Philippines said the decision “has caused widespread and grave concern among Chinese people.” Huang Xilian was speaking on Friday at a forum in Manila on China-Philippines relations.
The new locations bring the number of military sites the US can access in the Philippines to nine, under the pact signed in 2014 which allows the US to rotate its troops for prolonged stays as well as build and operate facilities on those bases.
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“Obviously, the US intends to take advantage of the new EDCA sites to interfere in the situation across the Taiwan Strait to serve its geopolitical goals and advance its anti-China agenda,” Huang said. That’s at the expense of the Philippines and the region, he added.
The US said in February the new sites – which weren’t identified then – would allow for more rapid support for humanitarian and climate-related disasters in the Philippines, and respond to other shared challenges.
Philippine defence chief Carlito Galvez Jnr said earlier this month the locations are “very significant” and “very strategic” including the area near the South China Sea which is a key route for around US$3 trillion worth of traded goods. It’s the Philippines’ “responsibility to the international community” to secure the area, he said.
Huang said China “will not renounce the use of force” and reserves “the option of taking all necessary measures” to guard against external interference and all separatist activities on the Taiwan issue.
He said “some” people have linked the decision behind the sites to the safety of 150,000 Filipinos working in Taiwan, but added the foreign workers would be better served if the Philippines didn’t offer the locations.