China skewered Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Tuesday after he congratulated the victor in neighboring Taiwan's presidential election, which Beijing had warned was a choice between peace or war.
"On behalf of the Filipino people, I congratulate President-elect Lai Ching-te on his election as Taiwan's next President," Marcos wrote on social media Monday. It was a rare comment on Taiwan politics from a high-ranking Philippine official and sure to rankle China.
Manila-Beijing ties are already on shaky ground after a year of confrontations in the South China Sea. China claims sovereignty over nearly all of the waterway, including areas lying within the U.S. treaty ally's internationally recognized exclusive economic zone.
Asked Tuesday about Marcos congratulatory statement, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters he had seriously violated the one-China principle as laid out by the Joint Communique through which China and the Philippines entered into official diplomatic relations.
"The election results in the Taiwan region cannot change the basic pattern and direction of cross-strait relations, nor can they stop the general trend that China will eventually and will inevitably be reunified," she said.
She warned the Southeast Asian country not to "play with fire" and suggested Marcos "go back to school" to better understand the Taiwan issue.
China requires countries seeking to establish diplomatic ties with it to abide by the one-China principle, which says the People's Republic of China in Beijing (as opposed to the Republic of China in Taipei) is the sole representative of the Chinese people.
China claims Taiwan as its sovereign territory, though the current government in Beijing has never ruled there.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday vowed "those who seek Taiwan's independence to split the Chinese territory will surely be 'severely punished' by history and the law."
On Monday, the Philippines Foreign Affairs Department put out a statement reaffirming its one-China policy.
In a veiled reference to China's increasingly aggressive posture in the South China Sea, the ministry also quoted a section of a 1975 Joint Communique that stated: "the two Governments agree to settle all disputes by peaceful means… without resorting to the use or threat of force."
China routinely deploys its coast guard and maritime militia to chase off Philippine fishermen from their traditional fishing grounds and intercept Philippine supply runs to contested areas.
The U.S. ally was not the only the country in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations regional bloc to congratulate Taiwan.
Singapore, which strives to maintain a foreign policy balance between Washington and Beijing, offered congratulations to Lai on Saturday.
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa did the same, calling Taiwan an important partner and friend.
"The United States looks forward to working with all of the individuals the Taiwan voters have elected," Laura Rosenberger, chair of the American Institute in Taiwan, the de facto U.S. diplomatic mission on the island, said at a Taipei roundtable event Tuesday. "You've heard me say many times before that Taiwan's democracy is a model for the world, and Taiwan's elections are yet another example of that."
Rosenberger arrived in Taipei Sunday as part of a delegation including top former officials to meet with Taiwanese leaders and signal U.S. support.
She added that Washington remained committed to supporting Taiwan's defense and expanding economic and trade ties.
Although the U.S. switched recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, it is Taiwan's strongest international supporter and largest arms provider.
Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday expressed thanks to Marcos in a statement on social media, saying Taipei eagerly anticipates "fostering an increasingly robust partnership to promote our nations' shared interests as well as Indo-Pacific peace and prosperity."
After the Taiwan's electorate voted the pro-sovereignty Democratic Progressive Party into power in eight years ago, China implemented a diplomatic freeze and dialed up economic pressure on the island. Taipei has since been making economic and diplomatic inroads in South and Southeast Asia.
In 2022, this New Southbound Policy saw Taiwanese firms investing more in these regions than in China for the first time, Taiwan's Economic Minister Wang Mei-hua told Nikkei Asia in November.
The Philippines, which is Taiwan's ninth-largest trading partner, also shares a more personal connection with Taiwan. Over 160,000 Filipinos live on the island, according to Washington, D.C., think tank the Global Taiwan Institute.
Though Taiwan defied China's ultimatums by electing Lai as president, he did not enjoy a mandate.
Lai garnered about 40 percent of the vote and benefited from a split opposition. Things were less rosy for the DPP in Taiwan's single-chamber legislature, where the party lost its majority.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Micah McCartney is a reporter for Newsweek based in Taipei, Taiwan. He covers U.S.-China relations, East Asian and Southeast Asian ... Read more
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