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China’s maritime aggression threatens not only the Philippines but also other Southeast Asian countries with territorial claims in the South China Sea, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said on Monday.
During the Senate Committee on Finance’s deliberations on the Department of National Defense’s (DND) proposed P324.632-billion budget for 2027, Sen. Erwin Tulfo asked Teodoro how the department was preparing to address threats from Beijing amid tensions in the areas that the Philippines calls the West Philippine Sea.
“We are doing our best to work not only on our own but also with our allies to deter any further aggressive military action by China,” Teodoro said.
“It’s not only a threat to us, but it is also a threat to Vietnam, to Malaysia, and to Brunei; and a threat to Japan, where their actions are equally aggressive, not to the extent we are facing,” he added.
Tulfo raised the matter amid recent remarks by the Chinese ambassador to the Philippines that Filipino officials had viewed as a veiled threat against the country.
“What preparations are you making now to counter these threats and allay the fears of the public? Na bobombahin tayo, dudurugin, etc. (We will be bombed, crushed, etc.),” Tulfo asked.
Teodoro said the Philippine government was working closely with its allies to deter further aggressive actions by China.
He stressed the importance of building deterrence to discourage China from taking further aggressive action, while urging the Philippines and its allies to carefully consider their responses.
“Ang dapat nating gawin ay to build deterrence. Magdalawang isip muna, kahit sino bago tayo guluhin. Kasi maaring pasakitin natin ulo nila and it's not worth it at the end of the day,” he said.
(What we need to do is build deterrence so that anyone would think twice before provoking us. We could give them a headache, and it's not worth it in the end.)
China claims most of the South China Sea, parts of which are also claimed by the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam and Indonesia.
In 2016, an arbitral tribunal in The Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines, finding that China had no legal basis to claim historic rights to resources within the so-called nine-dash line.
Also on Monday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) summoned Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan to convey the Philippines’ “serious concern and strong objection” to his recent remarks.
Jing had claimed that China would “easily win” if it resorted to force in the West Philippine Sea.
Teodoro reiterated the DND’s rejection of the Chinese ambassador’s accusations against the Philippines.
“Consistent with our earlier pronouncements, number one, we refute all allegations made by the ambassador that we are troublemakers and are provoking. Inuulit namin ang aming pagsuporta, pagtaguyod sa UNCLOS at sa UN charter,” he said.
(We reiterate our support for and commitment to upholding the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the United Nations Charter.)— MCG, GMA News
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