‘Marcos and others like him…’: China fumes over Philippine president’s Taiwan remarks in Firstpost interview

China slammed Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr over his comments on Taiwan, calling it an “internal matter.” In an exclusive conversation with Firstpost’s Managing Editor Palki Sharma, Marcos Jr maintained that his country cannot stay out if a conflict in Taiwan breaks out.

Hours after the interview, Chinese officials condemned the remarks and insisted that Beijing would not tolerate external interference, Chinese news outlet Global Times reported. “The Taiwan question is purely an internal affair at the core of China’s core interests and allows no external interference,” China’s official statement on the matter reads.

Marcos Jr and others like him need no extra interpretation — the plain meaning should be easy enough to grasp," Global Times mentioned in its tweet on the Firstpost interview. China’s growing aggressiveness over Taiwan and the wider Indo-Pacific region has been a major concern for several nations, including the Philippines.

What Marcos Jr said at the Firstpost Interview

While speaking to Firstpost, Marcos Jr maintained that if a conflict breaks out in Taiwan, the Philippines cannot stay out of it. The Philippine president highlighted the urgent need for strategic partnerships with like-minded nations, including India, to ensure regional security.

“If there is an all-out war, we will be drawn into it. We will have to go into Taiwan and bring our people home,” Marcos Jr said, adding the Philippines’ large expatriate population in Taiwan. Marcos Jr’s comments come at a time of intensifying maritime tensions in the South China Sea and growing global concern over a potential military flashpoint in the Indo-Pacific.

The Philippine president is on a five-day visit to India, where he aims to bolster ties between New Delhi and Manila.