China has warned the Philippines against “playing with fire” amid reports that Manila plans to bolster its military deployment on strategically important islands it controls near Taiwan, Ednews reports through The South China Morning Post.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin on Thursday reiterated Beijing’s position that Taiwan was “at the centre of China’s core interests and represents an insurmountable red line and bottom line”.
Manila’s recent order of more troops and construction on remote Batanes province prompts Beijing’s stern words urging ‘clear understanding’
Philippine province sits less than 200km from Taiwan, which Beijing describes as ‘at the centre of China’s core interests’