Philippines, China maintain active communication lines — DFA

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April 30, 2025 | 2:30pm

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines reaffirmed on Wednesday, April 30, that it continues to have direct communication lines with Beijing after its ambassador in China was summoned over concerns about Manila's position on Taiwan.

In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said both nations maintain open lines of communication through regular diplomatic channels, and that "our exchanges are sustained and constant." 

"The two sides regularly exchange frank views over various issues, including on Taiwan, through these channels, and will continue to do so," the DFA said. 

The DFA's statement comes after China's foreign ministry summoned Philippine Ambassador Jaime FlorCruz in Beijing on Tuesday, April 29, to express "serious concerns over Manila's negative moves on the Taiwan question and in security areas," according to a report by state-run China Daily.

On the same day, the spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in Manila called on the Philippines to "stop any form of official interaction with the Taiwan authorities" and to "stop sending wrong signals to 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces."

The Philippines has consistently affirmed its adherence to the One-China policy, which recognizes Beijing as the sole Chinese government. 

Manila also does not maintain official diplomatic ties with Taiwan, though it has recently relaxed the ban on government officials' travel to the self-ruled island to maximize investment opportunities. 

While Beijing did not specify the exact incident that made it summon the Philippine ambassador, it followed an exclusive report by TaiwanPlus that cited Navy spokesperson Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad as saying that the Philippine Navy has "unofficial and informal" engagements with their Taiwanese counterparts.

The April 29 report by the Taiwan-based news organization also said both nations' navies were "considering joint patrols in the Luzon Strait."

In the clipped video interview, Trinidad said: 

International cooperation with Taiwan I believe is now in the talks. We now have the regularization of the cross-strait transit of warships. I believe there will be an increase of that in the coming years...  That will just be one step away from doing joint activities military to military.

However, Trinidad told Philstar.com in a message that he was not referring to Philippine-Taiwan relations. 

"I was referring to the practice of foreign navies passing through the Taiwan Strait," the Navy spokesperson said.

The Chinese government considers Taiwan a breakaway province and has consistently opposed any official contact between the self-governed island and other countries, including the Philippines.

The statement by the Chinese embassy doubled down on this position and described the one-China principle as a "prevailing consensus of the international community and the political bedrock of China-Philippines relations."

"We call on relevant officials of the Philippines to refrain from making provocations on the Taiwan question," the Chinese embassy said. "Those who play with fire will perish by it."

Escalating tensions

China's assertion of its territorial claims over Taiwan has grown more tense in recent years with its increasingly frequent conduct of military exercises near the self-ruled island. 

The Philippines' geographic position places it in a precarious situation regarding any Taiwan conflict. Batanes, the country's northernmost province, lies approximately 100 miles south of Taiwan. 

AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. on April 1 told troops to be ready "in case there is an invasion of Taiwan" during his speech at Northern Luzon Command's 38th anniversary program. 

The AFP later clarified this was primarily focused on non-combatant evacuation operations for the approximately 250,000 Filipino workers in Taiwan, not actual military engagement.