VANCOUVER, Canada — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Saturday (Sunday in Manila) said China’s sanctions against Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. were “very unhelpful,” stressing it does not ease tensions or advance efforts to manage disputes between Manila and Beijing in the West Philippine Sea.
Marcos issued the statement after China’s foreign ministry announced that Teodoro, his wife and their child would be barred from entering the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Macau, after he had “repeatedly made irresponsible remarks” about China. It did not specify the remarks that had triggered the sanctions.
Speaking to reporters in Canada, Marcos said that while it is China’s prerogative to take such actions, such a declaration making Teodoro persona non grata heightens tensions rather than offering lessons for resolution.
The President said the move appeared to be a response to some of the pronouncements made by Teodoro in international forums regarding developments in the West Philippine Sea.
“But it does not move the discussion between the Philippines and China regarding the territorial conflicts that we have. It does not move that process forward in any way,” Marcos said.
“It does not make it easier. It does not lessen the risk of a mistake or some kind of skirmish that could grow into something more,” he added.
Marcos said the Philippines remains committed to maintaining open lines of communication with China despite continuing tensions in the disputed waters.
“We continue to look for as many lines of communications that we can have, both in foreign government to government, on the commercial level, on the purely personal level,” he said.
Marcos said cutting another channel of communication, particularly between the two countries’ defense establishments, would only complicate efforts to prevent misunderstandings or incidents from escalating.
“I do not see how it will help that process that we’re trying to achieve to manage the tensions in the West Philippine Sea, to lessen the likelihood of something happening that will be a trigger for something worse,” he said.
“So again, as I said, it’s China’s prerogative, but I really feel that it was unhelpful,” the President added.
‘Stronger than ever’
Meanwhile, Marcos said that the Philippines’ relations with the United States have continued to grow stronger since he assumed office in 2022.
During the same media interview, the President said that engagements between the two nations have become deeper and more expansive in recent years, particularly in emerging industries driven by new technologies.
“On our relations with the United States, well, those really have not changed status since I came into office. We just keep growing stronger together. We keep supporting each other, and we have been strong partners for over a hundred years,” Marcos said.
