To exclude, to expel: Philippine Defense Minister vows to stand up against China’s “bullying”.
China is behaving like a schoolyard bully towards small countries, the Philippine Defense Secretary told CNN on Friday in an exclusive interview in which he warned that his country and its The rest of the world must resist Beijing’s territorial expansion in the South China Sea.
Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr.
said: “I cannot think of a clearer case of intimidation than this one.
“It’s not stealing your lunch money, it’s actually stealing your lunch bag, chair and even your school registration.
His comments followed increasingly assertive steps by the Philippines to defend its claim to shoals in the South China Sea during more than a month of intense maritime tensions.
Teodoro called the Philippines’ refusal to retreat into the waters of its 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone a war for the Philippines’ existence.
“We are fighting for our fishermen, we are fighting for our resources.
We are fighting for our integrity as an archipelagic nation… Our existence as the Republic of the Philippines is crucial to this fight,” Teodoro said in a Face-to-face interview at the Ministry of National Defense in Manila.
“It’s not just for us, it’s also for future generations.”
“And if we don’t stop, China will make repeated incursions into what is within our sovereign jurisdiction, sovereign rights and territory,” he said.
East Sea.”
Beijing says it protects its sovereignty and maritime interests in the South China Sea and this week warned the Philippines “not to take provocative actions or seek trouble.
” The country accused Philippine fishing vessels and coast guard vessels of illegally entering the area.
China claims “indisputable sovereignty” over nearly the entire 1.3 million square kilometer area of the South China Sea, as well as most of the islands and shoals there, including many features located far from China.
mainland hundreds of kilometers away.
In addition to the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei and Taiwan also have different claims.
Over the past two decades, China has occupied several reefs and atolls in the South China Sea, building military facilities including airstrips and ports.
The Philippines believes that this action challenges the country’s sovereignty and fishing rights as well as endangers the marine biodiversity of this resource.
rich waterways.
In 2016, an international court in The Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines in a historic maritime dispute, concluding that China had no legal basis to claim historic rights to most of the Sea.Winter.
But Beijing ignored this move and continued to expand its presence on this waterway.
What’s at stake
In his first television interview with an international media outlet since taking office in June, Teodoro emphasized that everything that happens in the South China Sea has an impact on the world.
This waterway is essential for international trade as billions of dollars of global shipping passes through it each year.
It is also home to vast, fertile fishing grounds on which many lives and livelihoods depend, and beneath the waves lie vast reserves of oil and natural gas that the claimants fight over.
With countries suffering from inflation caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine, there are concerns that any slowdown in travel and freight in the South China Sea could have a significant impact.to the global economy.
“It will choke one of the most important waterways of the world supply chain, it will hinder international trade and bring the global economy, especially in the supply chain, into compliance,” Teodoro said.
according to their whims.” will react.”
The Defense Secretary warned that small countries, including regional partners, must rely on international law to survive.
“As much as they need China, they need Russia, but they see that they can also be bullied.
If they (China) close the East Sea, the next target could be the Strait of Malacca and then the Indian Ocean,” Mr.Teodoro said.
Risk of conflict
Just a few years ago, the Philippines took a much more cautious path with its giant neighbor China.
But since taking office last year, Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
has taken a tougher stance on the South China Sea issue than his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte.
On Friday, he defended the Philippine Coast Guard’s removal of a floating barrier installed by China earlier this week southeast of Bajo de Masinloc, also known as Scarborough Shoal.
A controversial area, the shoal is a small but strategic reef and fertile fishing ground 200 km west of the Philippine island of Luzon.
Marcos said his administration would not allow foreign entities to erect a fence “within the Philippines,” according to the official Philippine News Agency (PNA).
“We are not looking for trouble.
What we will do is continue to protect the Philippines, the maritime territory of the Philippines, the rights of our fishermen, who have been fishing there for hundreds of years,” Marcos said in an interview upon arrival.Visit Siargao Island.
According to PNA, Mr.Marcos added: “We avoid trouble, avoid heated exchanges, but our defense of Philippine territory is very strong.”
Marcos also strengthened relations with the United States, which had deteriorated under Mr.Duterte, when the two allies called for increased cooperation and joint patrols in the South China Sea in the future.
In April, the Philippines identified the locations of four new military bases to which the US will have access, as part of an expanded defense deal that analysts say is aimed at countering China.
Washington has condemned Beijing’s recent actions in the disputed waters and threatened to intervene as part of its obligations under the mutual defense treaty if Philippine ships there were attacked with weapons.
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Lindsey Ford reiterated Washington’s commitment to the Mutual Defense Treaty during a hearing before a House subcommittee on Tuesday.
She said the pact covers not only the Philippine armed forces but also the country’s coast guard, civilian ships and aircraft.
“We have repeatedly said and continue to say that we absolutely honor these commitments,” Ford said.
Defense Secretary Teodoro is concerned about the possibility of escalation “due to the dangerous and reckless actions of Chinese vessels,” but he has made it clear that any incident – accidental or not – will be directly blamed on China.
And he called on world powers to put pressure on Beijing over its actions in the South China Sea.
“Peace and stability in this part of the world will bring relief and comfort to everyone,” he said.
As part of the Marcos administration’s commitment to strengthen the Philippines’ defense and surveillance capabilities in the South China Sea, Teodoro said additional “air and naval assets” have been ordered.
“There will be more patrol boats, more rotary aircraft and we are studying the possibility of purchasing multi-role fighter aircraft,” he said, adding that this “will make a difference in our air defense capabilities.”
Wanting to keep a cool head, Teodoro said diplomacy would bring a solution provided Chinese leader Xi Jinping respected international law.
“I believe that Filipinos are always ready to negotiate, as long as it does not lead to backroom whispers or shouting at each other, which means having substantive negotiations,” he said.
open, transparent and rules-based.” , adding that the negotiations cannot be used as a delaying tactic by Beijing.
The Philippines, he said, “has no other choice” but to stand up to China because otherwise “we will lose our identity and integrity as a nation.”
But he added, conflict is not the solution or the desired outcome.
“Standing up doesn’t really mean going to war with China, God forbid, noWe don’t want
that.
But we must stand our ground when our land is invaded.
