President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said it's “very hard to imagine a scenario where the Philippines will not somehow get involved” in a Taiwan contingency. The comments came during an interview while Marcos was on a visit to Japan.
The comments come as the Philippines has been upgrading its defense cooperation with both the US and Japan. The US and Philippines recently announced the US would be given access to four new areas in the Southeast Asian country for basing. Following Marcos’ recent Japan visit, it was also announced that a visiting forces agreement with Japan could be considered, making it easier for Japan to keep troops there. Marcos also said that a US-Japan-Philippines tripartite agreement is being researched.
Manila’s recent defense agreements with the US and Japan both come as the Philippines maintains ongoing territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea. Part of their territorial dispute was ruled on by an international court in 2016, which ruled mostly in favor of the Philippines and rejected China’s territorial claims. Both China and Taiwan have rejected the ruling, and China has not ceased its activities in the South China Sea as ordered by the court.