China warns Philippines over US missile system deployment

By Anadolu staff

China's top diplomat warned the Philippines over the US intermediate missile system deployment, saying the move could fuel regional tensions, state news agency Xinhua reported on Saturday.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi met Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. He said Beijing and Manila are neighbors across the sea, and good neighborliness, mutually beneficial cooperation and common development are in the fundamental interests of the two countries.

Wang said bilateral relations are facing serious difficulties and challenges because the Philippines has “repeatedly violated the consensus of both sides and its own commitments.”

"If the Philippines introduces the US intermediate-range missile system, it will create tension and confrontation in the region and trigger an arms race, which is completely not in line with the interests and wishes of the Filipino people," he warned.

Beijing has repeatedly expressed its concerns over Washington’s growing military presence in the Philippines, particularly the midrange US missile system Typhon.

China and the Philippines are also engaged in a confrontation in the South China Sea over disputed shoals.

China claims most of the South China Sea, but the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei all have competing claims over the resource-rich waterway.

Wang said China recently reached a temporary arrangement with the Philippines on the transportation and replenishment of humanitarian supplies to Ren'ai Jiao in order to maintain the stability of the maritime situation, referring to the Second Thomas Shoal.

Last week, the two sides agreed to a provisional arrangement for resupply missions to Filipino troops stationed at Second Thomas Shoal.

Wang expressed the hope that Manila will seriously think about the future of China-Philippines relations and work with China to push bilateral relations back on the "right track."

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid