MANILA: The Philippine military said on Friday that China’s sanctions against Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. are aimed at silencing critics of Beijing’s activities in the contested South China Sea, marking a new turn in the long-simmering diplomatic dispute between the two nations.
Teodoro, who took up the defense chief post in June 2023, has been one of the most vocal critics of Beijing’s actions in the South China Sea and against Taiwan.
As the two countries have overlapping claims in the strategic waterway through which billions of dollars of goods pass each year, the area has been a source of tension between the Philippines and China, with flare-ups becoming more frequent in recent years.
On Thursday, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Teodoro and his family have been banned from entering China, including Hong Kong and Macao, over what it described as “irresponsible remarks” that undermines Chinese interests.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines described China’s sanctions against Teodoro as “ungrounded,” as it vows to defend the country’s sovereignty and rights in the South China Sea.
“These sanctions are a transparent attempt at political intimidation, meant to silence those who expose coercive and illegal actions in our exclusive economic zone,” retired Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, AFP spokesperson for the South China Sea, said in a statement on Friday.
“The AFP maintains that no amount of foreign pressure, legal maneuvering, or personal targeting of our leadership will deter the men and women of the military from performing our constitutional duty.”
Beijing has maintained its expansive claims of the disputed waters, despite a 2016 international tribunal ruling that China’s historical assertion to it had no basis.
Last month, at an international security conference in Singapore, Teodoro criticized Beijing’s activities in the area and its continued “disregard” of the 2016 ruling.
In a statement early on Friday, Teodoro said the Chinese sanctions came to “those who speak the truth against their deception.”
He added: “I will just keep doing my duty and uphold our nation in the face of the wickedness they are committing here and even in our seas.”
The sanctions against Teodoro are likely to complicate Philippines-China ties, officials and experts said.
“While the imposition of sanctions is China’s sovereign prerogative, the Philippines views it as an unfriendly act that further complicates the bilateral relations,” the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said.
“Such measures do not contribute to building mutual trust, managing differences responsibly, or creating the conditions necessary for constructive engagement between our two countries.”
China may move to sanction other Philippine officials in the near future, said international studies expert Prof. Renato De Castro.
“(China) might even impose it on the national security adviser, on individual Filipino legislators,” he told Arab News.
According to Chester Cabalza, president of the International Development and Security Cooperation think tank, imposing sanctions is “common practice” in China, used “as an immediate enforcement of public condemnation against their foreign opponents.”
But it remains that Philippine-China ties are “still on the rocks,” he told Arab News.
“The strategic dilemma remains unresolved due to frozen high-level military dialogue, sharp accusations, and widened defense alliances.”
