Brawner to PH troops: Prepare in case of Taiwan invasion

Armed Forces of the Philippine chief General Romeo Brawner Jr. on Tuesday told Filipino troops to get ready in case of an invasion of Taiwan as China launched military exercises around Taipei.

In his speech during the anniversary of the Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom), Brawner said the command is expected to lead the operation for the rescue of 250,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Taiwan.

“Start planning for actions in case there is an invasion of Taiwan. So ie-extend na natin 'yung (We will extend our) sphere of operations natin because if something happens to Taiwan, inevitably we will be involved,” Brawner said.

“There are 250,000 OFWs working in Taiwan and we will have to rescue them. And it will be the task of Nolcom to be at the front line of that operation,” he added.

China's military on Tuesday said it had sent its army, navy, air and rocket forces to surround Taiwan for drills it said were aimed at practicing a blockade of the self-ruled island, Agence France-Presse reported.

Beijing insists that democratic Taipei was part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring the island under its control. China has boosted the deployment of fighter jets and naval vessels around Taiwan in recent years to push its claim of sovereignty, which Taipei rejects.

According to the Chinese military, the military drills were aimed at sending a "stern warning and forceful deterrence" to alleged separatists in Taiwan.

On Monday, Agence France-Presse reported that United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Washington will ensure "robust, ready and credible deterrence" across the Taiwan Strait.

Brawner said the “next big conflict” the Philippines soldiers will face “will not be against our own people.”

“When I talk about warfare, we are already at war. I am not referring to the kinetic warfare that we see between Ukraine and Russia or between Israel and Hamas. But we are already experiencing cyber warfare, information warfare, cognitive warfare, political warfare. The communist China is already conducting united front works in our country,” he said.

“So in a world where the security landscape is perpetually changing, your strategic foresight ensures that we are always one step ahead,” he added.

Tensions continue as Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual shipborne commerce, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei.

Parts of the South China Sea that fall within Philippine territory have been renamed by the government as West Philippine Sea to reinforce the country’s claim.

The West Philippine Sea refers to the maritime areas on the western side of the Philippine archipelago including Luzon Sea and the waters around, within and adjacent to the Kalayaan Island Group and Bajo de Masinloc.

In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines over China's claims in the South China Sea, saying that it had "no legal basis."

China has refused to recognize the decision.—AOL, GMA Integrated News