MANILA, Philippines — Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. on Monday maintained that Philippine troops in the West Philippine Sea were defending the country’s rights under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) and were not seeking to provoke trouble.
“Consistent with our earlier pronouncements, number one, we refute all allegations made by the ambassador that we are troublemakers and are provoking. We reiterate, Your Honor, our support and promotion of the Unclos and the UN (United Nations) Charter,” Teodoro said during the Senate finance subcommittee hearing on the proposed 2027 budget of the Department of National Defense (DND).
Teodoro’s remarks came following the Department of Foreign Affairs’ (DFA) move to summon Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan on Monday to formally protest his Oct. 15 remarks about the use of force perceived by Philippine government officials as a threat meant to intimidate the country.
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Teodoro was sought for comment on how the DND treats such a public statement by the Chinese official.
“Secondly, we have already indicated our objection to his speech, because he not only said once, ‘You lose’. What is being portrayed now is, ‘We can use force if we want, but we may win easily’,” he added, quoting Jing. “There was also another thing he said, ‘Okay, you cut military communications, but you lose’. So that means there’s a threat there. And he said that twice.”
Teodoro stressed that the Philippines’ objection was clear, not just to the Chinese ambassador’s statement, “but more importantly, their false narrative with the nine-dash line, that they have jurisdiction.”
“Third, their latest narrative that Batanes is part of China, saying they now have the right to operate in the waters surrounding Batanes. That is strongly opposed, and we are trying to deter that kind of behavior,” he added.
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Now that Jing has already been summoned by the DFA, Teodoro said they will have to wait for developments, adding that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. or the DFA will message the public about the issue at an appropriate time. /dl
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