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South China Sea
AsiaSoutheast Asia

South China Sea: Philippines at risk of attack if it hosts Beijing’s enemy in event of war, Cagayan governor says

  • Manuel Mamba said Chinese minister Sun Weidong conveyed the warning to him in a meeting last year in Beijing
  • He added scrapping a military bases access agreement with the US can also end China’s actions in the contested waterway

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Philippine troops take part in a joint military exercise with their US counterparts in Laoag, Luzon island, on May 8. Photo: AFP
Kyodo

The governor of a Philippine province has suggested that China will not hesitate to attack the Philippines if Beijing becomes involved in a conflict with forces being hosted by the Southeast Asian nation.

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Manuel Mamba, governor of Cagayan province, located around 600km south of Taiwan, said on Tuesday that Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Sun Weidong conveyed the warning to him in a meeting in May last year in Beijing.

“If and when we, in the Philippines, will host their enemies, they will be forced to also shoot us if and when a war breaks [out] between [China and] their enemy stationed in our country,” Mamba quoted Sun as telling him.

“They will be forced to count us as their enemy,” added the governor, who is against the presence of foreign troops in the Philippines.

Last year, Mamba opposed the use of two sites in Cagayan by US forces under a defence pact between Manila and Washington. However, the Philippine government eventually permitted their use.
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Mamba shared Sun’s message at a time when the Philippines and the United States recently concluded a joint military exercise, with limited participation from other countries. The exercise took place in several areas of the country, including Cagayan and nearby Batanes province, which lies closer to Taiwan.

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