China lodges serious protests with Philippines over its leader's remarks concerning Taiwan

BEIJING, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Foreign Ministry and embassy in the Philippines have lodged serious protests with the Philippine side over its leader's remarks concerning Taiwan, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Friday.

It was reported that during his visit to India, the Philippine leader said in an interview that "if there is a confrontation over Taiwan between China and the United States, there is no way that the Philippines can stay out of it, simply because of our physical geographic location. If there is an all-out war (across the Taiwan Strait), then the Philippines will be joined into it."

The Philippine leader also said that there are a large volume of Filipinos in Taiwan, if there is a war, the Philippines has to get involved and try to bring their citizens back.

There is but one China in the world. Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. The Taiwan question is China's internal affair and is at the very core of China's core interests. How to settle it is a matter for the Chinese ourselves, which brooks no interference, the spokesperson said.

The Philippine government has made serious commitments to China that it adheres to the one-China policy, recognizes that Taiwan is an integral part of the Chinese territory and understands the Chinese government's efforts to realize national reunification, and the Philippine leader also said clearly to China that "the Philippines is committed to the one-China policy. The Taiwan question is purely China's internal affair that must be solved by the Chinese people," the spokesperson said, noting that these words are written in black and white, but the Philippines is now going back on its words in disregard of the grave consequences.

"It has kept making wrong and provocative remarks and actions, kept fudging and hollowing out the one-China principle, and kept harming the China-Philippines relations. China firmly opposes this," added the spokesperson.

The spokesperson further stressed that "near geographic location" and "a large amount of Filipinos in Taiwan" should not be used as pretexts to interfere in the internal and sovereign affairs of other countries, adding that these claims not only contravene international law and the ASEAN Charter, but also harm regional peace and stability and the fundamental interests of its own people.

"We urge the Philippines to earnestly abide by the one-China principle and the spirit of China-Philippines joint communique on the establishment of diplomatic relations, and refrain from playing fire on issues bearing on China's core interests," the spokesperson said. ■