The Philippines is pursuing deeper military cooperation with Taiwan, a move that could reshape Manila's strategic posture in the South China Sea and test its long-standing One-China policy, local media reported Wednesday.
In a notable policy shift, Manila is holding talks with Taipei to regularize warship transits through the Taiwan Strait, potentially opening the door to formal joint military activities between the two sides, Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, spokesperson for the National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea, told English daily the Manila Times.
"We now have the regularization of the cross-strait transit of warships," Trinidad said. "I believe there will be an increase in that in the coming days and years. That would also be just one step away from doing joint activities, military to military."
The comments mark the first public acknowledgment of possible military-to-military cooperation between Manila and Taipei, even as tensions over on South China Sea continue to rise with Beijing, which has long opposed any official interaction with Taiwan.
"We are now looking long-term. We're no longer looking at next month or next year. We're looking at what will happen in the next ten to twenty years," said Trinidad.
While the Philippines officially maintains the One-China policy, any future cooperation with Taiwan -- even if limited to information sharing, coordinated patrols, or humanitarian assistance -- is likely to be viewed by Beijing as highly provocative, according to the newspaper.
China, which sees Taiwan as a breakaway province, summoned Philippine Ambassador Jaime FlorCruz on Tuesday to protest Manila's recent moves, including the April 21 decision to lift a decades-old travel ban on officials visiting Taiwan for trade and investment purposes.
