The Department of National Defense (DND) on Wednesday voiced serious concern over China’s recent military and coast guard activities around Taiwan, warning that such actions undermine regional peace and stability and further strain an already fragile geopolitical environment.
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said these developments affect peace and regional stability in the broader Indo-Pacific.
“The Department of National Defense is deeply concerned by China’s military and coast guard actions around Taiwan that undermine regional peace and stability,” Teodoro said.
“This heightened scale of coercion has implications that extend beyond cross-Strait relations and into the broader Indo-Pacific community,” he added.
The Defense Secretary also emphasized the need to exercise self-restraint and to uphold the rule of international law.
“The Philippines underscores the importance of upholding international law and regional norms, including the principles of peaceful management of disputes,” Teodoro said.
The DND also reiterated the Philippines’ support for a free, open, stable, and rules-based Indo-Pacific, emphasizing that differences among states should be resolved peacefully and without deception, coercion, or intimidation.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry confirmed that a total of 207 Chinese military aircraft flew around the self-ruled island for 48 hours until early Wednesday, as China conducted drills seen as a warning against separatism.
Of the total plane sightings until 6 a.m. Wednesday local time, 125 had crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, the ministry said. The unofficial boundary has long been respected by both sides but increasingly ignored by China in recent years.
China’s military fired a total of 27 rockets in two waves between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Tuesday from the coastal province of Fujian into waters north and southwest of Taiwan.
China views Taiwan as a renegade province to be reunified with the mainland, by force if necessary, and the latest round of military exercises from Monday are aimed at countering separatism and external interference.
Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te has condemned the mainland for disregarding “the international community’s expectations for peace,” saying Beijing “has persisted in undermining regional stability through military intimidation.” — With Kyodo News
