Many voices lead to war (2025)

MY favorite escape route by high Philippine government officials appearing before congressional hearings is to request for an executive session.

An executive session is a private, closed-door meeting where resource persons and witnesses discuss testimony with committee members and their staff away from the public. This option is taken for sensitive topics like potential threats to national security, or to maintain the confidentiality of certain information, which when publicly disclosed may cause embarrassment to the Philippine government.

This is what Foreign Affairs Secretary Maria Theresa Lazaro requested after Sen. Imee Marcos, chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, pressed her for confirmation that a certain Lin Chia-Lung, allegedly the Taiwanese foreign minister, is currently in the Philippines.

Lazaro was clearly engaging in doublespeak when she told the committee that she has no official knowledge of Lin’s presence in the country, while admitting that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) had only been informed of a visiting business delegation from the US-Taiwan Business Council, led by its executive vice president Lotta Danielson.

What Senator Marcos was seeking confirmation on, “is the presence of a rather controversial, pro-independence advocate, a separatist and so-called foreign minister that has ignited all sorts of agitation.” Lin has been Minister of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan since May 20, 2024.

The Philippines adheres to China’s “one-China” policy, formalized in the June 9, 1975, joint communique and remains a cornerstone of Philippine diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China (PROC). The letter of the treaty was intense and left no space for speculation: “... that Taiwan is an integral part of Chinese territory, and [the Philippines] decides to remove all its official representations from Taiwan within one month from the date of signature of this communique.”

China has foreign affairs offices (FAOs) at provincial, prefectural, county, or township levels of government but foreign policy is strictly and centrally controlled. Suffice it to say, PROC’s provincial FAOs are only led by vice foreign ministers coordinating with Foreign Minister Wang Yi to ensure the government speaks only with one voice.

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However, Taiwan does not consider itself falling under this category as it fancies itself a separate “Republic of China” (ROC) and has its own foreign minister.

Technically, the PROC and the ROC are still in a state of civil war because no peace treaty or armistice officially ended the Chinese civil war which began on Aug. 1, 1927 fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and the forces of the Chinese Communist Party. Mao Zedong declared the formation of the People’s Republic of China on Oct. 1, 1949, predating its total control over mainland China two months and six days after on Dec. 7, driving Chiang Kai-shek and the Kuomintang-led Republic of China to retreat to Taiwan after their defeat.

As we speak, Taiwan is coming under increasing pressure from the PROC for reunification, thus putting a formal ending to the civil war.

On Dec. 17, 1987, President Corazon Aquino issued Executive Order 313 which prohibits all government officials from visiting Taiwan, receiving visiting Taiwanese officials, or carrying out any official activity relating to Taiwan without clearance from the DFA, in recognition of the one-China policy.

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But last April 15, under Memorandum Circular 82, signed by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, the travel ban now applies only to the president, vice president, secretary of foreign affairs and secretary of national defense.

Beijing has criticized Manila for manipulating adherence to the One-China policy, following remarks by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in an interview by Firstpost while visiting India: “To be very practical about it, if there is a confrontation over Taiwan between China and the United States, there is no way that the Philippines can stay out of it, simply because of our physical geographic location.”

The problem is the statement has not been isolated.

Last April 1, Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, was caught on video telling troops to prepare themselves for an invasion of Taiwan.

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But it is actually RAdm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, who blew the whistle last May, on a changing context of our Taiwan relationship emanating from the Department of National Defense and not the Office of the President or the DFA: “There is now more coordination, more collaboration and more communication among partners. Talks are under way to regularize warship transits across the Taiwan Strait, a development that could lead to formal joint military activities between the two neighbors (Taiwan and the Philippines) and thus reshape the strategic calculus in the region.”

The AFP spokesman virtually admitted the presence of elephants in the room which are the United States and its war allies. In an interview with the Washington Post, Defense Secretary Gibo Teodoro openly confirmed that, “It would be hiding from the obvious to say that Taiwan’s security will not affect us,” after endorsing a Japanese proposal to view the East China Sea, the South China Sea and the Korean Peninsula as a “single theater” of battle.

This was followed by Stratbase (Albert del Rosario) Institute’s hosting of a closed-door online meeting last May 27 focusing on key geopolitical issues in the Indo-Pacific, particularly on the perspectives of China’s recent actions. It was jointly organized by Taipei’s Prospect Foundation, whose chairman Dr. Tan Sun Chen is a former minister of foreign affairs of Taiwan.

Notably, the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office participated, as represented by Michael Lee, a retired lieutenant general in the ROC Armed Forces. On the Philippine side, there were also joiners from our National Security Council and the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency.

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In reciprocity, Coast Guard Commo. Jay Tarriela and Navy Rear Admiral Trinidad himself, traveled to Taipei last July 2 for a “thumbs-up” meeting with Taiwanese leader Lai Ching-te, that included discussions on countering Chinese hybrid warfare strategies.

In strongly worded letters dated July 4 sent to the heads of the Department of National Defense and the Philippine Coast Guard, Foreign Secretary Lazaro said the two traveling high officials had not acted prudently and dealt damage to our good standing with China, proof-positive that their travel was not cleared and coordinated with the DFA.

Lazaro must be having sleepless nights these days.