UPDATE 1-Taiwan urges Philippines to lift ban on its citizens over coronavirus fears

(Recasts, previous MANILA)
By Ben Blanchard and Karen Lema
TAIPEI/MANILA, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Taiwan urged the
Philippines on Tuesday to lift a travel ban on its citizens
after Manila included them in curbs on arrivals from China in a
bid to control a coronavirus epidemic, despite Taiwan's small
number of cases.
Taiwan is governed entirely separately from China, but
Beijing claims the island as its own and the World Health
Organization (WHO) clubs its virus cases in the category for
China.
Taiwan's Foreign Ministry said it had been in close touch
with the Philippines to seek a lifting of Monday's sudden ban,
which stranded some Taiwanese at Philippine airports.
"We are proactively in communication and have lodged
representations with the Philippines, including the presidential
office and foreign ministry, to tell them that we are not a
virus area of China's," spokeswoman Joanne Ou said in Taipei.
Taiwan has just 18 virus infections, versus more than 42,000
in China. It has complained the WHO classification has misled
countries into believing it poses the same health risk as China,
prompting them to impose the same flight and travel curbs on it.
Taiwan and the Philippines have close economic and cultural
ties, but no formal diplomatic relations, as the Philippines,
like most countries, only recognises the government in Beijing,
and not in Taipei.
More than 115,000 Philippine citizens live and work in
Taiwan, mainly in factories and employed as household help.
After Italy banned Taiwan flights this month, Philippine
immigration officials late on Monday placed an immediate travel
ban on Taiwanese, following the same previously announced curbs
that covered China, including Hong Kong and Macau.
"While not explicitly stated, we have confirmed...that
Taiwan is indeed part of the ban, and this expansion shall be
implemented immediately," Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente
said in a statement.
Philippine airlines have now cancelled flights to and from
Taiwan, with Philippine Airlines (PAL) and Cebu Pacific saying
the cancellations aimed to manage the risks from the fast
spreading virus outbreak.
Taiwan has also encountered instances of its citizens being
either caught up in bans on visitors from China, or of foreign
officials confusing them with Chinese, even in the absence of
bans.
Ou said Taiwan's own virus control efforts and overall
situation were both good.
The foreign ministry has notified its embassies and
representative offices to advise host nations around the world
that Taiwan is not part of China's virus area, with its own
cases limited and under control, she added.