MECO: Life in Taiwan normal despite Chinese military drills

Amid China’s military drills, a Filipino living in Taipei said it was business as usual in Taiwan's capital city.

“Normal na normal po yung situation,” said Professor Patrick Dave Bugarin in Chino Gaston’s report on “24 Oras” on Monday.

(The situation here is very normal.)

“Yesterday, we celebrated Easter, ‘yung mga Catholics na andito sa Taiwan,” he added.

(Yesterday, we Catholics here in Taiwan celebrated Easter.)

The Taiwanese military was on “high alert” due to China’s three-day military drills near the country.

The drills started on Saturday after the meeting between President Tsai Ing-wen and US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California last week.

According to Taiwan Defense Ministry Spokesperson Sun Li-Fang, Beijing demonstrated its possible actions should they launch a full-scale invasion against Taiwan.

On the last day of the drills, 71 Chinese Air Force aircraft and nine navy vessels were sent close to Taiwan.

Taipei condemned Beijing’s actions, saying the war games endangered the region’s security.

“[The People's Liberation Army's] recent harassment with their assets has destabilized the region. This time, President Tsai’s visit became their excuse to conduct exercises. And their actions have severely jeopardized the security of the surrounding region,” said Sun.

Meanwhile, the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan allayed the fears of Filipinos with relatives in the country, saying life was normal in the country.

MECO Chairperson and Representative Sylvestre Bello III also denied there were massive layoffs due to the security threat, adding that the Philippine government had developed plans to help overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) should conflict arise.

A security expert said the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites in North Luzon would be helpful for the Philippines should war break out, saying these could be used to immediately repatriate around 200,000 OFWs working and residing in Taiwan.

“That's where EDCA and our alliance with the US will be very crucial. We would need assistance from the US in transporting them under fire and where we land them. We cannot land them at our airports right now. We need to rely on the EDCA sites, also in terms of the refugees,” said Professor Renato de Castro. — Sundy Mae Locus/DVM, GMA Integrated News