MANILA – The Philippines would inevitably be pulled into a war between the United States and China over Taiwan, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. warned, citing the nation’s proximity to the island and the urgent duty to protect its territory and citizens.
“To be very practical about it, if there is confrontation over Taiwan between China and United States, there is no way that the Philippines can stay out of it simply because of our physical, geographic location,” Marcos said in an interview with Indian media outlet Firstpost.
He underscored how close Taiwan is to the country: “The large city of Kaohsiung is a 40-minute flight from the capital of my home province in the Philippines, in Laoag. That’s how close it is.”
Marcos stressed that if an all-out war erupts between the two superpowers, the Philippines “will be drawn into it.”
“And I assure you with the greatest hesitation, but again, we will have to defend our territory and our sovereignty,” he said.
The President also highlighted the immediate humanitarian concerns such a conflict would trigger, with tens of thousands of Filipinos living and working in Taiwan.
“There are many, many Filipino nationals in Taiwan, and that would be immediately a humanitarian problem, because we will have to get involved, because we will have to go in there, or find a way to go in there and to bring our people home,” he explained.
“And that’s not an easy thing to do, considering that you are in the middle of a combat zone. So, it would not be a small problem by any means,” Marcos added./PN
