PH 'deeply concerned' by China's drills around Taiwan

MANILA, January 4 ------ The Philippines is "deeply concerned" about China's military drills around Taiwan, which it believes can "undermine regional peace and stability." In a statement, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro said China's military and coast guard actions around Taiwan are "further creating cracks in an already fragile geopolitical environment."

China launched missiles and deployed dozens of fighter jets, navy ships and coastguard vessels around the island on Monday and Tuesday in live-fire drills aimed at simulating a blockade of Taiwan's key ports and assaults on maritime targets. The warships and vessels are withdrawing as of Wednesday, the Taiwanese coastguard said. "This heightened scale of coercion has implications that extend beyond cross-Strait relations and into the broader Indo-Pacific community," said Teodoro. "Basic principles of self-restraint must be observed, and the rule of international law must not be distorted."

Communist China has never ruled democratic Taiwan, but Beijing claims the island of 23 million people is part of its territory and has threatened to use force to annex it. Beijing has not yet publicly declared the drills to be finished.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com