Philippines says working on contingency plan for possible Taiwan invasion
- Defence chief Gilbert Teodoro said the threat of Beijing attacking the self-ruled island is something Manila is monitoring on a daily basis
- He added measures were being discussed to ensure the safety of thousands of Filipinos living and working in Taiwan
“We really have to make an assessment whether such is likely or not,” Defence Secretary Gilbert Teodoro 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.
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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, Teodoro, said the contingency measures being discussed were “a multi-agency effort and not only a defence effort”.
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.
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Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, 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 Teodoro.
