MANILA (3RD UPDATE) -- Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff General Romeo Brawner Jr. told troops at the Northern Luzon Command (NOLCOM) to extend their “sphere of operations” and prepare for future eventualities, which may include an emergency in Taiwan.

The NOLCOM is a unified command of the AFP responsible for securing the Ilocos Region, Cordillera Administrative Region, Cagayan Valley, and Central Luzon, including Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal and the Philippine Rise.

“NOLCOM is our frontliner here in the northern hemisphere. As I, as we saw a while ago in their shift to territorial defense, they have gone a long, long way already,” Brawner said in his speech during the NOLCOM’s 38th anniversary program at Camp Servillano Aquino in Tarlac City on Tuesday.

PH, US military chiefs discuss modernization, expansion of joint exercises

“But let me give you this challenge, this further challenge: 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,” he added.

Brawner explained that should anything happen to Taiwan, “inevitably, we will be involved.”

“There are 250,000 OFWs working in Taiwan and we will have to rescue them,” the military chief said. “It will be the task of the NOLCOM to be at the frontline of that operation.”

"As members of the armed forces of the Philippines, we should have that mentality that we are already at war," he said. "These are the areas where we perceive the possibility of an attack. I do not want to sound alarmist, but we have to prepare." 

Manila, which has a mutual defense pact with Washington, has been engaged in months of confrontations with Beijing over disputed areas of the South China Sea.

Beijing claims almost the entirety of the crucial waterway, despite an international ruling that its assertion has no merit.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited Manila last week and said that "friends need to stand shoulder to shoulder to deter conflict to ensure that there's free navigation" in the South China Sea.

At this month's Balikatan exercises, US and Philippine troops will conduct a "full battle test" of "all of the plans, all of the doctrines, all of the procedures that we have developed in the past years", Brawner said.

"It's very important that we prepare for any eventuality," he added.

Brawner alleged that "communist China is already conducting united front works in our country".

"They are already infiltrating our institutions, our schools, our businesses, our churches, even our ranks in the military," he said without giving details.

He said the Philippines was also experiencing "cyber warfare, information warfare, cognitive warfare, political warfare".

The Chinese embassy did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Philippines has in recent weeks made a series of arrests of Chinese suspects accused of conducting surveillance on military camps and Filipino naval and coast guard ships.

Chinese military drills around Taiwan

China claims self-governing Taiwan as part of its territory and has refused to rule out the use of force to bring the island under its control.

China deploys Shandong aircraft carrier group near Taiwan

China on Tuesday sent its army, navy, air and rocket forces to surround Taiwan for large-scale drills Beijing said were aimed at practising for "precision strikes" and a blockade of the self-ruled island.

Taiwan dispatched its own aircraft and ships, and deployed land-based missile systems, in response to the exercises and accused Beijing of being the world's "biggest troublemaker".

Hegseth also said Sunday in Japan that the United States would ensure "credible deterrence" across the Taiwan Strait.

China opposes US support for Taiwan, which Beijing insists is part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring it under its control. - with a report from Agence France-Presse

China holds large-scale military drills around Taiwan