Photo courtesy: Facebook/Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro, Jr.
Tahasang sinagot ni Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilberto C. Teodoro, Jr. ang mga katanungan ng Chinese delegates sa 2025 Shangri-La Dialogue kaugnay sa maritime tensions sa West Philippine Sea (WPS)
Aniya, “disguised as questions” ang mga propaganda spiels ng Chinese Interlocutors na dumalo sa kamakailang event sa bansang Singapore.
“…thank you for propaganda spiels disguised as questions,” tahasang pagsagot ng kalihim.
“[M]y personal opinion, the fact that the question was asked in the way it does, it engenders a deficit of trust in China’s words vis-à-vis its action,” ani Teodoro.
Binigyang-diin din ni Teodoro sa nasabing dialogue ang lumalalang tensiyon dulot ng agresibong pagkilos ng bansang Tsina sa West Philippine Sea.
“I just look back to 1995 on place called a mischief reef, there were a few bamboo structures erected there. And China said that these were temporary havens for fisherfolk. Now you have an artificial military island, heavily militarized. China says that it has peaceful intentions,” paglalahad ng opisyal.
Why does it continue to deny the Philippines its rightful provenance under international law and UNCLOS? And as proof of this, we do not stand alone… None have with China agreed and none has condemned the Philippines for standing up against China in the face of a threat to its territorial integrity and sovereignty. And thus, for dialogue to be effective, it must be coupled with trust,” dagdag nito.
Sinabi rin ni Teodoro na kailangan pang bumuo ng tiwala ang Republika ng Bansang Tsina upang maging epektibong negotiating partner sa agawan ng teritoryo sa West Philippine Sea.
“China has a lot of trust-building to do, to be an effective negotiating partner in dispute settlement. We have to call a spade a spade. And that’s what we see, and that is the biggest stumbling block to dispute resolution or dialogue with China,” pagbibigay-diin pa ng opisyal.
