PH apologizes to China for Taiwan logo gaffe

The Department of National Defense used the logo of Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense instead of the People’s Republic of China’s on the tarpaulin announcing the turnover on Oct. 5 of 3,000 assault rifles that China donated to the Armed Forces of the Philippines. —AP

Oops, the Philippines used the logo of Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense instead of the People’s Republic of China’s.

The Department of National Defense (DND) on Monday apologized to the Chinese government for the gaffe that DND spokesperson Arsenio Andolong described as “technical lapse.”

The wrong logo was displayed on the banner announcing the turnover on Oct. 5 of 3,000 assault rifles worth $3.3 million that China donated to the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

“Military assistance gratis from the Ministry of National Defense of the People’s Republic of China,” read the banner, which hung above the stage as Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and Chinese Ambassador Zhao Jianhua sat together to witness the weapons turnover.

“We have issued an official apology to the government and the people of the People’s Republic of China through His Excellency Zhao Jianhua,” Andolong said in a statement.

“We are fully cognizant and grateful for the support that the government of the People’s Republic of China has been providing us and we reiterate that the DND and the AFP strictly adhere to the ‘One China Policy’ as espoused by the Philippine government,” Andolong added.

The Philippines has no diplomatic ties with self-ruling Taiwan, which Beijing considers a breakaway province.

Stronger ties extolled

At the turnover ceremony, Zhao extolled the stronger relationship between the Philippines and China, praising President Duterte for repairing the two countries’ strained ties caused by their maritime dispute in the South China Sea.

“Today, I am standing here handing over donations of firearms and ammunition. If President Duterte has not decided to rekindle our friendship, if he has not decided to promote friendly and cooperative relationship with China, this would not have been possible for me to stand here to donate these arms and ammunition to the military of the Philippines,” Zhao said in his speech.

“May I suggest we give a round of applause to the President?” he added. The crowd obliged.

Grievous mistake

A few Twitter users actually called the DND and the media’s attention to the mistake.

Andolong said the DND “committed a grievous but purely unintentional mistake of using a different logo on a banner to represent the Ministry of Defense of the People’s Republic of China.”

“It is our sincere hope that this very unfortunate incident will not affect the cooperative and friendly relations between our two countries, which has grown warmer over the past year,” Andolong said.

The weapons from China were the second batch to be delivered to the Philippines this year to help the Duterte administration fight Islamist militants who have been occupying parts of Marawi City since May.

The Philippines, a military ally of the United States for decades, is trying under Mr. Duterte to build warmer relations with China. —REPORTS FROM NIKKO DIZON AND AFP