Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff General Romeo Brawner Jr on Tuesday said his country would “inevitably” be involved if Taiwan is invaded, as the US approved the possible sale of US$5.58 billion of F-16 jets to the Philippines.
The US Department of State in a statement said it was green-lighting a sale that includes 20 F-16 jets and related equipment to the Philippines, a treaty-bound ally of the US.
The sale would “improve the security of a strategic partner that continues to be an important force for political stability, peace and economic progress in Southeast Asia,” the US department said.
Photo: Reuters
It would also boost “the Philippine Air Force’s ability to conduct maritime domain awareness” and “enhance its suppression of enemy air defenses,” it said.
The news follows months of increasing confrontations between the Philippines and China in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost in its entirety despite an international ruling that its assertion has no merit.
A US department spokesperson yesterday said that the deal would be final only after “a signed letter of offer and acceptance” was received from the “purchasing partner.”
Philippine Department of National Defense spokesman Arsenio Andolong said that he had “not received any official notice of such a decision.”
However, China warned Manila against the purchase, saying the Philippines was “threatening” regional peace.
“The Philippines’ defense and security cooperation with other countries should not target any third party or harm the interests of a third party. Nor should it threaten regional peace and security or exacerbate regional tensions,” Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Guo Jiakun (郭嘉昆) said.
Manila and Washington have deepened their defense cooperation since Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr took office in 2022 and began pushing back on Beijing’s sweeping South China Sea claims.
In December last year, the Philippines angered China when it said it planned to acquire the US mid-range Typhon missile system in a push to secure its maritime interests.
Beijing said such a purchase could spark a regional “arms race.”
US President Donald Trump’s administration has sought to redirect US military efforts to Asia to face a rising China, especially as tensions rise over Taiwan, and to lessen involvement in Europe despite Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
On Tuesday, as Chinese ships and warplanes surrounded Taiwan in a simulated blockade, Brawner said his country would “inevitably” be involved should Taiwan be invaded.
“Start planning for actions in case there is an invasion of Taiwan,” he told troops in northern Luzon island, without naming the potential invader.
“Because if something happens to Taiwan, inevitably we will be involved,” he said.
He also said that the bulk of this month’s joint military exercises would be conducted in northern Luzon, the part of the Philippines nearest Taiwan.
“These are the areas where we perceive the possibility of an attack. I do not want to sound alarmist, but we have to prepare,” he added.
Guo said resolving “the Taiwan issue is a matter for the Chinese people.”
“We advise certain individuals in the Philippines not to play with fire or make provocations on the Taiwan issue — those who play with fire will only get burned,” he said.
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