China "lodged serious protest" against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s remark that "there is no way" the Philippines will not be drawn into conflict in case a war broke out between the United States and China over Taiwan.

In his remarks on Friday, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson reiterated that "there is but one China in the world" and "Taiwan is an inalienable part of China".

"The Taiwan question is China’s internal affair which is at the very core of China’s core interests. How to settle it is a matter for the Chinese ourselves, which brooks no interference," the spokesperson said.

"The Taiwan question is purely China’s internal affair that must be solved by the Chinese people. These words are written in black and white, but the Philippines is now going back on its words in disregard of the grave consequences."

In an interview with the local media in India, Marcos said that because of the "physical geographic location" of the country and the large number of Filipinos in Taiwan, there is no way that the Philippines can stay out of conflict in case of war between China and the US.

“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,” he said.

“If you think about it, if there is an all-out war, then we will be joined into it. And I assure you with the greatest hesitation, but again, we will have to defend our territory and our sovereignty,” he added.

The spokesperson stressed that the Philippines "has kept making wrong and provocative remarks and actions, kept fudging and hollowing out the one-China principle, and kept harming the China-Philippines relations."

"China firmly opposes this. The Chinese Foreign Ministry and Embassy in the Philippines have lodged serious protests with the Philippine side.

However, the Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson stressed that near geographic location and a large number of Filipinos in Taiwan "should not be used as pretexts to interfere in the internal and sovereign affairs of other countries."

"These claims not only contravene international law and the ASEAN Charter, but also harm regional peace and stability and the fundamental interests of its own people," the spokesperson said.

"We urge the Philippines to earnestly abide by the one-China principle and the spirit of China-Philippines Joint Communique on the establishment of diplomatic relations, and refrain from playing fire on issues bearing on China’s core interests." Robina Asido/DMS