Philippines to be a “magnet of attacks” if US intervenes in China-Taiwan conflict: expert
The Philippines will become a "magnet of attacks" by allowing American troops to set up facilities in military bases under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), an expert said.
Roland Simbulan, a political science professor at the University of the Philippines, said it might happen if the United States interferes with the conflict between China and Taiwan.
Simbulan said US should not interfere in China’s agenda to reunify with Taiwan so the country will not be involved in the rivalry between the two superpowers.
“I just want to point out that these identified (EDCA) sites actually, these are really sitting ducks. Actually, the whole Philippines is an EDCA US site. The entire Philippines. You know the military infrastructure that the US established in Subic and Clark, which they made for several decades. They based it on the needs and capability of the US Navy and Air Force and they have been using them for a long time,” Simbulan said at a forum.
“So what happens is that if there will be a US intervention over the Taiwan issue which China considers an internal affair of that country. Definitely this will be matched by China and we will be a magnet of attacks because of these bases we have allowed our territory to become,” he added.
“It’s clear in the statements of China that Taiwan is part of their core interest because China really wants a peaceful resolution in the reunification eventually,” he said.
Simbulan said that by defending Taiwan’s independence, the US was violating its 1972 Joint Shanghai Communique with China, where it recognizes that Taiwan is a province of China.
A few years later, the Philippines also formed diplomatic ties with China in 1975.
“This meeting of President (Ferdinand) Marcos with (US President Joseph) Biden, for me this is a joint US-Philippine agreement to violate and disregard the 1972 joint China-US Communique and also to violate correspondingly the Philippine-China opening of diplomatic relations where we in fact recognize that Taiwan is a part of China and that we only recognize China,” Simbulan said.
“That recognition comes with the acceptance that the Taiwan issue is part of their internal affairs. That’s why, the deployment of US troops here through the EDCA bases, and the additional EDCA bases…all of this is in line with the US strategy,” he added.
Simbulan said that the setting up of EDCA sites in the Philippines was part of the US island chain strategy to weaken China.
“For the past four decades or more than four decades, including the Vietnam War, they have been intervening in other countries using military aggression. In these military interventions of the US, they always use the overseas military bases in other countries as springboards and forward bases,” he said.
“That’s why it’s scary to have these EDCA bases. It is clear and obvious that this is pat of the US strategy which is the island chain defense. The bases come from Japan, South Korea, it also includes Taiwan, and now, the Philippines. It is an island chain of defense and containment and encirclement of China. That’s why this is a provocative move in light of its clear violation of the Shanghai Communique,” he added.
For her part, House Deputy Minority Leader Rep. France Castro suggested having joint coast guard patrols in the West Philippine Sea and bringing up the dispute in other international courts.
“We have filed many diplomatic protests. But steps must be taken so this will not happen again So we suggest lobbying to the Asian Parliamentary Assembly and the International Parliamentary Union to condemn such actions, the active incursions of China here in our territory,” Castro said.
Castro said that the Philippines should have joint patrols with other claimants in the South China Sea like Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, and Taiwan.
“By doing this, we will increase the cooperation between the ASEAN countries with generally equal footing with the Philippines. And at the same time, defending our territory,” she said.
Castro said that having military agreements with the US would just worsen the tension in the Asia-Pacific region.
“We repeat and reiterate that we need to de-escalate the tension and de-militarize the West Philippine Sea instead of further heightening it. So the joint patrols and international pressures we think are the peaceful yet assertive ways to defend our territory, military agreements will just exacerbate the situation,” she said. Jaspearl Tan/DMS
