The Philippines has no arrangement with Taiwan to protect undersea cables, the Department of Foreign Affairs said on Monday, October 26, distancing the government from a Filipino diplomat's remarks in Washington last week that Manila was exploring deeper cooperation with Taipei, the Philippine Star reported.
Source: Philippine Star, via Balita, Oct 26
"There is no cooperative arrangement with Taiwan on subsea cables or other critical undersea infrastructure," the department said in a short statement sent to reporters who had asked about the remarks. The department affirmed that the country continues to adhere to its "longstanding and consistent One China Policy." DFA spokesperson Analyn Ratonel gave the same statement to reporters, Screencap reported.
Source: DFA statement via Screencap, Oct 26
What the diplomat had said
Felipe Carino III, deputy chief of mission at the Philippine Embassy in Washington, said during a seminar hosted by the Center for a New American Security that both sides were eyeing closer cooperation to jointly protect undersea cables, according to a Reuters report cited by the Philippine Star. Carino said the Philippines was taking a practical approach with Taiwan to protect shared interests in the Bashi Channel, and was doing so "notwithstanding our one China policy." He said the two sides were looking at knowledge-sharing and capacity-building, and that the cooperation could lead toward "addressing the gray-zone issues in our part of the world." When asked whether it could include joint patrols or holding vessels accountable for damaging cables, he said he did not have details.
Source: Philippine Star, via Balita, Oct 26
What the DFA says the forum actually covered
The DFA said the discussions during the forum centred on protecting critical undersea infrastructure through stronger public-private cooperation, mainly in repairing and recovering damaged facilities. "It must be emphasized that the protection of [critical undersea infrastructure] requires concerted efforts by all parties that benefit from these essential networks," the department said. "There was no mention of gray-zone activity cooperation with Taiwan," it added. The clarification matters in the South China Sea context: undersea cables carry the region's internet and financial data, and any formal Manila-Taipei cooperation would be read in Beijing as a political step, which is why the DFA's denial and its One China reaffirmation are the development here, not a new cable deal.