MANILA – Chinese Ambassador to Manila Huang Xilian, in rare public comments, told the Philippines to reject Taiwan’s sovereignty claims, instead of worsening tensions in the region by giving the United States access to military bases under a defence and security deal.

“The Philippines is advised to unequivocally oppose Taiwan independence rather than stoking the fire by offering the US access to military bases near the Taiwan Strait if you care genuinely about the 150,000 overseas Filipino workers (in Taiwan),” Mr Huang said in a public forum about Philippines-China relations organised by a non-governmental organisation in a hotel in Manila.

These were the first comments by the Chinese envoy since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr announced on April 3 that the US will now have access to four additional Filipino military bases under the Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).

Mr Huang’s speech was delivered as Beijing ramps up its political and military pressure on Taiwan following last week’s meeting between Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California.

The defence and foreign ministers of the Philippines and the US also met in Washington on Tuesday, the same day the two nations kicked off their largest war games in key areas in the Philippines.

The Chinese ambassador usually refrains from giving statements on geopolitical tensions, with the Chinese Embassy in Manila often referring the media’s questions to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Mr Huang, referring to the 150,000 Filipinos working in Taiwan, said some advocates in favour of EDCA have argued that the expansion will strengthen the safety of the migrant workers. The workers form part of the 1.8-million-strong overseas Filipino workers who in 2022 brought home remittances of US$36.14 billion ($48 billion).

Some Filipinos took to social media to counter Mr Huang’s comments and criticised China for what they say are its encroachment in parts of the South China Sea that lie within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone. Manila officially calls this area the West Philippine Sea.

“The ambassador’s provocative language regarding our overseas Filipino workers in Taiwan is unacceptable. Besides, it’s not just the safety of the migrant workers that the Philippines cares about,” tweeted search specialist Timothy Rizane, 24. “We also care about the security of our northernmost islands as well as our unfettered access to the Luzon Strait and the Philippine Rise. China seeks to dominate and seize these areas”.

Under the now-expanded EDCA, American forces can construct facilities, bring in equipment and hold joint training exercises with their Filipino counterparts in a total of nine strategically located Philippine military bases.

Three of the additional sites include a naval base and an airport in Cagayan province, about 627km north of Manila, and an army camp in Isabela, a province beside Cagayan in northern Philippines.

These are provinces that are close to Taiwan, with the tip of Cagayan province located about 580km from Taiwan.

The fourth additional EDCA site is located in Palawan, an island province facing the South China Sea, where Manila and Beijing have competing claims.

Mr Marcos has given his assurances to China that the four additional EDCA sites will not be used for any offensive actions.

He also echoed earlier statements by US and Philippine officials that the expansion of EDCA is meant for humanitarian and relief operations, pointing out that northern provinces are usually hit by devastating typhoons.

The Philippines’ geographical location puts it at risk of being caught in the middle should tensions escalate over Taiwan between China and the US.

Mr Huang argued in his speech that the US intends to use the EDCA sites “to interfere in the situation across the Taiwan Strait to serve its geopolitical goals and advance its anti-China agenda at the expense of peace and development of the Philippines and the region at large.”

He cautioned the Philippines against welcoming military deployments from the US.

“One just needs to take a look at the long list of messes left behind by the scourge of the American military around the world, the turmoil, divisions and devastation. Answers will not be difficult to find,” said Mr Huang.

He also said that while Beijing and Manila continue to have differences over the South China Sea territorial dispute, relations between the two nations are more defined by peaceful co-existence.

As China continues to increase its military aggression in the South China Sea and in the Taiwan Strait, Mr Marcos has been forging deeper security ties with its military allies like the US, Japan and Australia.

The Philippines is now in talks with these countries to potentially conduct joint maritime patrols in the disputed waters to counter China’s presence there.