Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, Jr. described China’s version of international law as a ‘perverted one’ following its continuous escalatory actions in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) or South China Sea (SCS).
Speaking before the media launch of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction’s Asia Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction on Thursday, Teodoro said Beijing’s expansionist agenda in the SCS shows its blatant disregard of international law.
“Their (China’s) version of international law is a perverted one. Sad to say, but it is what it is,” he said during the event held at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City.
Teodoro’s latest comments come days after China Coast Guard vessels rammed anew into the ships manned by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), causing structural damages. The PCG vessels were on their way to BRP Teresa Magbanua, which had been stationed at Escoda Shoal when the incident happened.
BRP Teresa Magbanua was deployed in April amid reports of China’s reclamation activities. Escoda or Sabina Shoal, which lies about 139 kilometers (75 nautical miles) from the coast of Palawan, is the assembly point of Philippine vessels conducting resupply missions to Ayungin Shoal.
Ayungin Shoal, known internationally as Second Thomas Shoal, lies about 200 kilometers (120 miles) from Palawan and more than 1,000 kilometers from China’s nearest major landmass, Hainan island.
The August 19 collision in the waters of Escoda Shoal was just one of the many intense maritime incidents in the past featuring Philippine ships in confrontation with Chinese navy, coast guard, and militia vessels.
China’s military jets also recently dropped flares with an unarmed Philippine Air Force plane conducting maritime patrol in Bajo de Masinloc, also known as Scarborough Shoal.
Meanwhile, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and US Indo-Pacific Command will convene next week in Baguio City for the annual Mutual Defense Board-Security Engagement Board (MDB-SEB).
“It serves as a crucial venue to discuss and establish mutually agreed-upon policy directions on defense and security issues. It also facilitates the approval of the Activity Lists for Calendar Year 2025,” AFP Spokesperson Colonel Margareth Padilla said of the upcoming event.
The regular convening of the MDB-SEB underscores the long-standing relationship between the Philippine and US militaries, concluding a year of bilateral planning and training between the allied forces.
The MDB-SEB further strengthens the cooperation between the Philippines and the United States, reaffirming both nations’ shared commitment to the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty and the joint pursuit of a free and open Indo-Pacific region against the backdrop of a rules-based international order.
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