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China has "advised" the Philippines to oppose Taiwan's independence instead of offering the US access to its military facilities near the Taiwan strait, reported Manila-based publication Daily Tribune.
China's Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian on Friday said Manila should stand against the firm sovereignty claim of self-ruled, democratic Taiwan, which Beijing sees as part of its territory awaiting reunification. Huang stressed this in his keynote speech at the 8th Manila Forum, which was co-presented by the Embassy of China in Manila and the Association for Philippines-China Understanding. He also said that rather than stoking the fire by offering the US access to military bases near the Taiwan Strait Philippines should care "genuinely about the 150,000 overseas Filipino workers (in Taiwan)," reported Daily Tribune. This comes after Beijing ramped up its political and military pressure on Taiwan following last week's meeting between Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California. While China commends the Philippines for adhering to the one-China principle, he explained that Taiwan's issue is "entirely China's internal affair, as is the Mindanao issue to the Philippines." "You will never allow any third party to meddle with resolving rebel issues in Mindanao. Likewise, it should not be hard to understand why the announcement of the four additional EDCA sites has caused widespread and grave concern among Chinese people," he said. The envoy reiterated that the US intends to use the additional Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites to push for its own interests and agenda "at the expense of peace and development of the Philippines and the region at large." Last week, Malacanang, the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the Philippines identified the locations of the four additional EDCA sites, to where American forces will have access, reported Daily Tribune. Signed in 2014, the EDCA grants US troops access to designated Philippine military facilities and allows them to build facilities, and preposition equipment, aircraft, and vessels. Permanent basing is prohibited. The five existing EDCA locations are Antonio Bautista Air Base in Palawan, Basa Air Base in Pampanga, Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija, Mactan-Benito Ebuen Air Base in Cebu, and Lumbia Air Base in Cagayan de Oro City. The new EDCA sites designated by the two sides are in Balabac Island in Palawan and in Naval Base Camilo Osias in Sta Ana, Cagayan; Lal-lo Airport in Lal-lo, Cagayan; and Camp Melchor Dela Cruz in Gamu, Isabela which are both near Taiwan and Benham Rise. The last three are in the northern portion of Luzon, closer to Taiwan. Huang said the new EDCA sites were "obviously" chosen by the United States to "interfere in the situation across the Taiwan Strait to serve its geopolitical goals, and advance its anti-China agenda at the expense of peace and development of the Philippines and the region at large." Asked for comment on Huang's remarks, the US Embassy said, "EDCA sites will support combined training exercises and interoperability between US and Philippine forces to ensure that we're even better prepared for future crises." "EDCA is a key component of the US-Philippine alliance, and is not about any other third country," the US Embassy said. (ANI)
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