'PH not going to war over Taiwan'

Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin issued the statement after Armed Forces chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. urged Philippine troops to prepare for China's possible invasion of Taiwan amid tension over the Chinese military's conduct of large-scale exercises in the East China Sea.

Speaking to reporters in Malacañang, Bersamin said that these preparations have long been discussed as a contingency measure in case of an invasion.

"This is nothing new since we have been discussing it for a long time due to the strong possibility of mainland China crossing the channel between them and Taiwan to reclaim Taiwan," Bersamin said in an ambush interview.

"This is just part of the preparedness that we as a country should be put into," he added.

The Palace official assured the public that there was no cause for concern as "we are not going to war."

"There's nothing to worry about ... We are not going to war. Unless they involve us, of course," he said.

Bersamin said it was also important for the Philippines to be prepared for any possibility, even if there was no actual invasion.

"We're not saying when that invasion will take place, whether it will take place at all, but what is important is we will not be caught off-guard. That's the context of General Brawner's statement," he said.

Bersamin also said there would be no main agency to be involved in the preparation, adding that the priority, if any, was the repatriation of the about 250,000 Filipinos currently residing in Taiwan.

The Palace official assured the public that government assets were in place should Filipinos there need to be repatriated.

"It's a whole-of-nation, whole-of-government approach. There will be no main agency to be involved there, there will be only one response, which is to give priority to the repatriation of our fellow countrymen," Bersamin said.

"We have every asset that is needed for that, maybe large evacuations, we need the confluence of air and water assets. We have ships and airplanes if needed," he added.

On Tuesday, during the anniversary of the Northern Luzon Command, Brawner called on the troops to "prepare for any eventuality" amid growing regional tensions over China's aggression.

"Do not be content with securing just the Northern Hemisphere up to Mavulis Island. Start planning for actions in case there is an invasion of Taiwan," Brawner said in his speech.