The
governor of the Batanes islands, less than 200 km (125 miles) from Taiwan, said
in August she had sought U.S. funding for a new port there. The U.S. embassy had at the time confirmed its diplomats and U.S.
Army Pacific (USARPAC) experts had been engaging local authorities on various
support measures for the islands.
"At
first they said they will help but later on, no more, so I asked help from
PPA," Governor Marilou Cayco told Reuters in a message, referring to the
Philippine Ports Authority (PPA). The project was intended to help the
unloading of cargo from the capital, Manila, during rough seas in the monsoon
season, when an existing facility is often inaccessible.
The
U.S. embassy on Friday 22 Mar said it
had no immediate comment on the issue.
U.S.
military involvement in the Batanes port could have stoked tension at a time of
growing friction with China and a drive by Washington to intensify its longstanding
defence engagements with the Philippines, which Beijing has viewed with
suspicion.
The
Bashi Channel between the Batanes islands and Taiwan is considered a choke
point for vessels moving between the western Pacific and the contested South
China Sea and would be a key waterway in the case of a Chinese invasion of
Taiwan.
The Chinese
military regularly sends ships and aircraft through the channel, Taiwan's
defence ministry has said.
In
statement released to the media on Friday, the Chinese embassy in Manila said
Taiwan was an internal matter for China so it should never become an issue
between China and the Philippines.
It
was not immediately clear what the statement was in response to.
"Any attempt
to implicate the Taiwan question in the maritime disputes between China and the
Philippines is dangerous," the embassy said in a statement, without
elaborating on the danger.
When
asked why the U.S. was no longer participating in the port project, Cayco said
she did not know. "Actually, we just made a proposal and because that's
not sure, we had sought help from the PPA."