China rejects Kiko Pangilinan statement on Taiwan military exercises

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January 2, 2026 | 9:45am

MANILA, Philippines — The Chinese Embassy in Manila rebuked Sen. Kiko Pangilinan's criticism of Beijing's recent military drills around Taiwan, saying his "wrongful" remarks go against the Philippines' commitment to the one-China policy.

The embassy issued its statement after Pangilinan warned in a statement released by his office that China’s two-day drills encircling the island had unsettled not only the island but also Filipinos working and spending the holidays there, as well as countries in East and Southeast Asia. 

“Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory,” the Chinese Embassy in Manila said, calling the Taiwan issue a domestic matter that “brooks no external interference.” 

It urged “relevant Philippine figures” to abide by Manila’s long-standing one-China commitment and to stop what it sees as aiding separatism for Taiwanese independence.

Pangilinan, who chairs the Senate's justice committee, framed the drills around the self-ruled island as a threat to regional stability and to civilians caught in the middle of rising tensions. 

“It is the season of goodwill, but China’s two-day military drills encircling Taiwan have brought ill will all around,” he said in a statement Thursday, January 1. 

Pangilinan rejected the idea that peace can be enforced through military pressure or great-power rivalry, warning against normalizing threats of invasion and large-scale war games in the region. 

Drills draw regional concern

China earlier this week closed the year with two days of live-fire military drills around Taiwan, including missile launches and simulations of a blockade of key ports. Taiwan condemned the exercises as highly provocative, while Beijing said they were aimed at deterring separatism and foreign interference. 

Beijing claims Taiwan as part of its sovereign territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring the self-governed island under its control. 

Manila adheres to the One China principle, recognizing Beijing as the legitimate Chinese government and maintaining no formal diplomatic relations with Taipei. 

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. last year acknowledged the Philippines’ precarious position in the event of a conflict across the Taiwan Strait, saying Manila could be pulled into a war “kicking and screaming” because of its geographic proximity to the island and the large number of Filipino workers there. 

China protested his comments as “playing with fire,” while Marcos said he was simply stating a practical reality given the need to plan for the safety of Filipinos in Taiwan should hostilities break out.