The Philippines would let the US use its military bases in the event of a conflict in the Taiwan Strait, as long as it is “important” to the nation’s “own security,” Nikkei Asia reported yesterday.
In a recent interview with the Japanese news magazine, Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez also urged restraint, saying that “nobody wants to have any kind of war or confrontation.”
“We want to ask both countries to lessen the tension by having more dialogue and then trying to resolve all of these issues, because it’s in our part of the world,” said Romualdez, a relative of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte had floated the idea of letting the US use his nation as a staging ground during a Taiwan conflict, but there has been little sign of formal talks on the issue, Romualdez told Nikkei.
