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President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. delivers a speech at the 70th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women at the UN Headquarters, New York , USA on March 9, 2026.   Bongbong Marcos Facebook Page

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MARCOS

Katrina Domingo

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177915591479520260311-marcos-un-meeting-status-of-women-PBBM5.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. delivers a speech at the 70th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women at the UN Headquarters, New York , USA on March 9, 2026. <em>Bongbong Marcos Facebook </em></span></span></span><br/>MANILA — The Philippines “will not interfere” with the issue between China and Taiwan, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. reiterated on Monday, weeks before his meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae, who had made headlines for saying that Tokyo might come to Taipei’s defense should Beijing attack.</div><p>The Philippines has “from the very start, always held a one-China policy,” Marcos told Japanese reporters who asked about his stance on the Taiwan issue ahead of the Filipino leader’s meeting with his Japanese counterpart in Tokyo later this month.</p><p>“When it comes to Taiwan, as far as the Philippines is concerned, we do not interfere with something that is an internal matter,” the President said.</p><p>“We have always held a one-China policy, and we will continue to do that,” he said.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/5/6/japanese-defense-chief-visits-ph-ahead-of-marcos-japan-trip-0938">Japanese defense chief visits PH ahead of Marcos’ Japan trip</a></div><p>In 2025, Takaichi drew China’s ire after she visited Taiwan despite Beijing’s warnings against recognizing the island as an independent state.</p><p>Japan’s first female Prime Minister later said that Japan should deploy its self-defense forces should China launch an attack on Taiwan, saying that a siege on Taiwan is an “existential crisis for Japan.”</p><p>“I think the declaration is in a very strong position that your Prime Minister has taken… I think in Japan&#x27;s case, it&#x27;s more about a choice to be involved,” Marcos said.</p><p>“In the Philippines, we do not have a choice because Taiwan is so close to the Philippines and we have almost 200,000 Filipino nationals living and working in Taiwan,” he said.</p><p>“So we have many other considerations, but we end up in the same position that we want to avoid any confrontation, we want to avoid any hostilities… simply because we do not want to be involved in any war, we do not want to be involved in any conflict.”</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>PH, CHINESE MINISTERS MEET</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Meanwhile, Philippine and Chinese foreign ministers are set to meet “in less than a month’s time,” as Manila and Beijing commit to regular discussions to “maintain peace” between the two countries, Marcos said.</p><p>The Filipino leader neither gave exact dates nor mentioned the meeting’s agenda, but said that the scheduled talks are part of what needs to be done “to maintain the peace.”</p><p>“We have raised now the level of engagement with China. We now have our foreign ministers have agreed to regularly meet, and I think the first meeting will be our foreign – my foreign secretary and the foreign minister,” he told reporters in Malacañang.</p><p>“So the schedule that we put there, I don&#x27;t think the date has been finalized, but they have decided already on what the agendas will be. We continue to engage all stakeholders,” he said.</p><p>“We have simply defined our foreign policy. Peace is in our national interest,&quot; the President added.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEOS: </strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mhcG46D9s3M?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_n-2Tbqi6xg?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div>

<p>The Philippines “will not interfere” with the issue between China and Taiwan, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. reiterated on Monday, weeks before his meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae.</p>

The Philippines “will not interfere” with the issue between China and Taiwan, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. reiterated on Monday, weeks before his meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae.

PH will 'not interfere' with China-Taiwan issue, Marcos says ahead of meeting with Japan's Takaichi

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PH will 'not interfere' with China-Taiwan issue, Marcos says ahead of meeting with Japan's Takaichi

Katrina Domingo,

ABS-CBN News

Published May 19, 2026 10:04 AM PHT

Read More:

Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Takaichi Sanae

China

Philippines

Japan

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