TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Philippines opened a coast guard monitoring base on an island just 150 kilometers from Taiwan’s southern point as China conducted large-scale military exercises, reports said Friday (May 24).
Beijing staged the “Joint Sword-2024A” drills surrounding Taiwan on Thursday (May 23) and Friday, provoking calls for peace, stability, and restraint from around the world. The maneuvers followed just days after the May 20 inauguration of President Lai Ching-te (賴清德).
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) station on Itbayat, the country’s northernmost inhabited area, was opened on Thursday, National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano said. However, he did not mention the Chinese exercises near Taiwan, per CNA.
Ano mentioned a military build-up in the area in 2022 as a naval response by China to political developments between Taiwan and the United States.
The launch of the Itbayat base would contribute to security in the Luzon Strait, which he described as a vital international waterway. Freedom of navigation in the area was of crucial importance to the country’s national security and economic prosperity, according to Ano.