During his state visit to India, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. gave an interview to local media outlet Firstpost.
When asked what the Philippines would do if China used force against Taiwan, Marcos replied:
“Speaking very pragmatically, if China and the United States clash over Taiwan, the Philippines cannot possibly stay out of it – simply because of our geographical location. To understand how close Taiwan is to the Philippines, it only takes 40 minutes to fly from Laoag, the capital of my home province in northern Philippines, to Kaohsiung, a major city in Taiwan. That’s how close it is.”
“So, if you think about it, if an all-out war breaks out, we would be drawn into it. I assure you, although very reluctantly – let me say it again – we must defend our territory and sovereignty.”
“In addition, there are many Philippine nationals in Taiwan. That would immediately become a humanitarian issue, because we would have to intervene – either by going there or finding a way to get there – to locate our people and bring them home, just as we always do when they are in conflict zones. To me, at least initially, that is our greatest concern.”
“So I’m saying we would immediately mobilize all our resources to evacuate our people. Given that they would be in the heart of a war zone, that is no easy task. This is definitely no small matter.”
Source: Radio France International, August 7, 2025
https://www.rfi.fr/cn/国际/20250807-小马科斯-若中美在台湾问题上发生冲突，菲律宾不可能置身事外