No Taiwan official allowed to visit Philippines: foreign minister

The Philippine government will not allow any visit of any high ranking Taiwan official to the country following reports that Taiwan's "foreign minister" is planning to meet with Filippino legislators in Manila this month, Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alberto Romulo said Thursday.

Romulo said that such a visit is not permissible in deference to the one-China policy.

"Whether I'm aware of it (the visit) or not, we have adopted and strictly adhered to the one-China policy. In fact, we have just recently celebrated out 50 years of bilateral relations with China," Romulo told a press briefing.

Earlier reports said that Taiwan's "Foreign Minister" Chen Tang Shan will meet with Philippine lawmakers to discuss the possible drafting of a Philippine-Taiwan Relations Act.

Adhering to the one-China policy, not a single country of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has forged diplomatic relations with Taiwan, a region of China.

"China sits in the United Nations and they are the determining influence of our foreign policy," Romulo said.

Source: Xinhua