TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Philippine ambassador to the U.S. warned the South China Sea is where a confrontation could break out that would trigger the next world war, rather than Taiwan.
Jose Manuel Romualdez, was cited by Nikkei Asia as saying that small-scale conflicts between Philippine and Chinese ships in the South China Sea could trigger a major conflict at "any time." He said the South China Sea "is the flashpoint, not Taiwan" and warned that if "anything happens in our area, it's like the beginning of another war, world war."
The report noted that Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping (習近平) in the U.S. a few weeks ago to address tensions in key waters of the South China Sea. Romualdez revealed that Marcos expressed a willingness to talk during the meeting, but Xi seemed uninterested.
He described the situation as "disappointing." According to the ambassador, Xi did not say anything and only mentioned that they would let their defense and diplomatic officials discuss the issue.
The report pointed out that China claims historic rights to almost all of the South China Sea and rejects the Philippines’ maritime claims. China's government disregarded a 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague which denied Beijing's historical claims.
Romualdez called for multilateral measures to counteract China's coercive actions, including joint missions in the South China Sea. He said, "The only way to do that is to have multilateral countries show force."
Philippine Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro told the newspaper in November that Japan, New Zealand, the U.K., Canada, and France were among the candidate countries to take part in multilateral missions in the South China Sea.
The Philippines allows the U.S. military access to nine locations across the island nation. The purpose is not only to allow the U.S. to quickly provide disaster relief and humanitarian assistance but also to rapidly react to emergencies in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait.