Philippine Defense Chief Says Taiwan Strait Situation an 'Internal Matter'

The Philippines' Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro arrives to attend the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting (ADMM) in Jakarta, Indonesia, November 15, 2023. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan/Pool/ File Photo
The Philippines' Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro arrives to attend the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting (ADMM) in Jakarta, Indonesia, November 15, 2023. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan/Pool/ File Photo
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Philippine Defense Chief Says Taiwan Strait Situation an 'Internal Matter'

The Philippines' Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro arrives to attend the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting (ADMM) in Jakarta, Indonesia, November 15, 2023. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan/Pool/ File Photo
The Philippines' Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro arrives to attend the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting (ADMM) in Jakarta, Indonesia, November 15, 2023. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan/Pool/ File Photo

The situation in the Taiwan Strait, where China has carried out military exercises, is an "internal matter," Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said on Friday, declining to comment on drills that Taiwan has condemned.
China's military conducted a second day of war games around Taiwan on Friday, with drills to test its ability to "seize power" and control key areas. Beijing has said the exercises were launched to punish Taiwan's new president, Lai Ching-te, Reuters reported.
"I will not comment on anything on the Taiwan Strait, as that's an internal matter for them," Teodoro told reporters on the sidelines of a Philippine Navy anniversary event.
China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and denounces Lai as a "separatist". It strongly criticized his inauguration speech on Monday, in which he urged Beijing to cease threats and said the two sides of the strait were "not subordinate to each other".
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr drew China's ire in January when he congratulated Lai after winning an election, referring to him as president.
China in response summoned the Philippine ambassador and warned the country "not to play with fire", calling the message from Marcos gross interference and a serious violation of the "One China" principle.
Marcos later defended his remarks, stressing that his message was "common courtesy" and he did not endorse Taiwan independence. US ally Manila has said it wanted to recognise the Philippines and Taiwan's "mutual interests", including 200,000 Filipino workers on the island.



Kremlin: Putin Not Ruling Out Talks with Ukraine, but Wants Guarantees

Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen on a TV camera screen as he speaks during a meeting at the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow, Russia, Friday, June 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool)
Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen on a TV camera screen as he speaks during a meeting at the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow, Russia, Friday, June 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool)
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Kremlin: Putin Not Ruling Out Talks with Ukraine, but Wants Guarantees

Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen on a TV camera screen as he speaks during a meeting at the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow, Russia, Friday, June 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool)
Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen on a TV camera screen as he speaks during a meeting at the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow, Russia, Friday, June 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool)

Russian President Vladimir Putin is not ruling out talks with Ukraine, but guarantees will be needed to ensure the credibility of any negotiations, Russian news agencies cited Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying on Sunday.

More than 90 countries took part in a two-day event at the Buergenstock resort in central Switzerland aimed at uniting global opinion on how to end Moscow's 27-month-old invasion.
Russia was not invited to those talks.

Kyiv's positions have been taken into consideration in the final communique for the summit, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Sunday.

"The text is balanced, all of our principled positions on which Ukraine had insisted have been considered," he told reporters.

Kuleba also hinted that Russia could be involved in a future summit but dismissed Putin's demand on Friday that Kyiv cede four regions of Ukraine that Russia has occupied and drop its goal of joining NATO.