China lodges protest over Marcos remarks on possible Taiwan conflict

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August 8, 2025 | 4:43pm

MANILA, Philippines — China has lodged a formal protest with the Philippines after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the country would be inevitably drawn into a potential war between Beijing and Washington over Taiwan because of its proximity and the presence of Filipinos on the self-ruled island.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a press conference on Friday, August 8, that Marcos’s comments ran counter to Manila’s commitment to the one-China policy, which recognizes Taiwan as part of Chinese territory.

The Philippines is one of several countries that officially only recognize one China — the People's Republic of China. However, Taiwan does rule itself independently with its own government and democratic system. Manila maintains unofficial economic and cultural ties with Taipei.

"The Philippine government has made serious commitments to China that it adheres to the one-China policy... The Philippine leader also said clearly to China that the Philippines is committed to the one-China policy, and the Taiwan question is purely China’s internal affair that must be solved by the Chinese people," Wang said.

"As these words are still ringing in our ears, the Philippines is going back on its words in disregard of the grave consequences," Wang added.

Wang accused the Philippines of making “wrong and provocative remarks and actions,” “fudging and hollowing out” the one-China principle, and harming relations between China and the Philippines. He said Beijing’s foreign ministry and its embassy in Manila had lodged “serious protests” with the Philippine government.

The Chinese spokesperson also rejected Marcos’s remarks that proximity and the large number of Filipinos in Taiwan would inevitably draw the Philippines into a potential conflict across the Taiwan Strait, saying such reasons should not be used to interfere in “internal and sovereign affairs of other countries.” 

READ: ‘No way to stay out’: Marcos on Philippines if China-Taiwan war erupts

Wang said those justifications violated international law and the ASEAN Charter, but did not mention how they applied to Manila’s stated priority of preparing to evacuate its citizens from Taiwan — the main scenario the Philippine armed forces says it is planning for. 

What the president said

Marcos made his comments during an August 6 interview with Indian news outlet Firstpost, while on a state visit to India. He said a war across the Taiwan Strait would “inevitably” draw in the Philippines because of its proximity and the need to protect its territory.

“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.

He noted that Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan is a 40-minute flight from Laoag City, the capital of his home province of Ilocos Norte. “That’s how close it is,” he said.

The president added that the Philippines would “have to defend our territory and our sovereignty” and “immediately mobilize everything” to evacuate Filipinos should conflict erupt. “It would not be a small problem,” he said.
 
Around 200,000 Filipinos live in Taiwan, based on the latest estimates, and many of them work as caregivers, factory workers, and in other vulnerable occupations.

Earlier in April, AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. told soldiers during a Northern Luzon Command anniversary event to prepare for non-combatant evacuation operations for Filipinos in Taiwan should conflict erupt — later clarifying that the focus is on possible rescue operations, not military engagement.

This is not the first time Marcos has drawn China's ire over Taiwan. In January 2024, he posted on social media a congratulatory message to Taiwan’s newly elected president-elect, Lai Ching-te. This prompted a strong rebuke from Beijing, which summoned the Philippine ambassador there and accused Manila of breaching the one-China principle.

Marcos later clarified that the Philippines does not endorse Taiwan's independence and that it has not changed its adherence to the one-China policy. The president described his congratulatory message as "common courtesy." 

Marcos in April relaxed long-standing travel restrictions for most government officials visiting Taiwan and for receiving Taiwanese delegations. — with reports by Jean Mangaluz