Philippine senator calls for closer ties

Philippine Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan on Monday called for closer cooperation between Taiwan and the Philippines, saying their security is closely linked amid growing tensions with China.

“What affects Taiwan will affect the Philippines and vice versa,” Pangilinan told the Central News Agency (CNA) in an interview in Bangkok, citing their geographical proximity.

Pangilinan, a member of the Philippines’ Liberal Party, was in Bangkok for the 65th Congress of Liberal International, a conference of liberal democratic parties and delegates from around the world.

Philippine Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan is pictured in Bangkok on Monday.

Photo: CNA

He stressed the need for cooperation among liberal democratic parties to counter a global rise in authoritarianism.

“The march towards authoritarianism is not limited to one country. It’s actually a worldwide phenomenon,” he said.

His remarks come amid heightened tensions between Manila and Beijing over territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

Last month, Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Jing Quan (井泉) said that China could easily prevail if it chose to use force in the disputes, but insisted that Beijing preferred peace.

The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs described the remarks as a thinly veiled threat, while Pangilinan urged Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr to send Jing home, calling the ambassador “arrogant, insulting, crude and insolent.”

Pangilinan said a 2016 South China Sea ruling by a UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) arbitral tribunal had upheld the Philippines’ maritime rights under international law and he stressed the importance of resisting aggression.

“We have nothing against the Chinese people,” he said.

“We are here to uphold and defend what is rightfully ours under international law and under UNCLOS,” he added.

The South China Sea dispute is not merely an issue between China and the Philippines, but also involved other Southeast Asian countries and freedom of navigation, he said.

Taiwan and the Philippines should forge closer ties in such areas as democratic governance, human rights, agriculture, food security and semiconductors, Pangilinan told CNA.

Many Filipinos have gained valuable skills working in Taiwan’s semiconductor sector, but had to return to the Philippines because their employment contracts expired, he said.

Taiwanese investors should expand their operations in the Philippines to provide employment opportunities for Filipinos who return from Taiwan, he said.

The senator, who has visited Taiwan several times, including to meet with Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) and Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in Taipei in October and November last year, also praised Taiwan’s efforts to counter disinformation.

He said he had adopted some strategies he learned from Taiwanese non-governmental organizations and volunteers during his successful senate campaign in May last year.

Looking ahead to the 2028 presidential election, Pangilinan, a well-known opposition senator, said the Liberal Party was still trying to persuade former Philippine vice president Leni Robredo to run.

“We think that she has the best chance to bring together a coalition united behind good governance and that’s why we’re still convincing her,” Pangilinan said.