China summoned the ambassador of the Philippines Tuesday to officially protest President Ferdinand Marcos’ message of congratulations to Taiwan’s newly elected president.
In a post on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter, President Marcos congratulated Lai Ching-te, the candidate of Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party, on his election last Saturday, and said he looked forward to “close collaboration” with him. The DPP has long been a proponent of Taiwan’s self-rule status, pushing back against Beijing’s claims of sovereignty over the island.
Speaking to reporters in Beijing, foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said President Marcos’s statement was a “serious violation” of the Philippines’ commitment to the “One China principle” and “a gross interference in China’s internal affairs.”
Mao Ning warned the Philippines “not to play with fire on the Taiwan issue” and to stop sending “wrong signals” to independence and separatist forces on the island. She also urged Marcos to do further reading so he can properly understand the issue and come to “the right conclusions.”
Taiwan has been self-governing since the end of China’s civil war in 1949, when Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalist forces were driven off the mainland by Mao Zedong’s Communists and settled on the island. Beijing has vowed to bring Taiwan under its control by any means necessary, including a military takeover.
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters, Agence France-Presse.
