MANILA, Philippines — Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. said Wednesday that the communication lines between the Philippine and Chinese military remained suspended, alleging that Beijing has “abused” the channel where they funnel their twisted narratives to satisfy their greed.
Teodoro issued the statement after the Chinese Embassy in Manila accused Teodoro of shutting down military communication between the two countries for political self interests, warning that such move “pushes frontline personnel closer to confrontation.”
“That is inaccurate,” Teodoro said, clarifying that the decision to suspend military-to-military (mil-to-mil) communications was not a new policy and had been in place for about three years.
Speaking in Filipino and English, Teodoro said that direct communications between the Department of National Defense (DND) and its attached agencies and the Chinese defense establishment has been suspended "because our security has been compromised, the Chinese have abused every channel that has been opened to them, they have been twisting narratives and there is no basis to open communication."
Teodoro clarified that communications with Beijing were under the Department of Foreign Affairs and not with the Department of National Defense.
“We don’t have any joint operations with them. We don’t have any alignment with them. Actually they are adversarial to us and to our interests,” he said.
He clarified, however, that in the case of the Philippine Coast Guard, a civilian and maritime law enforcement body, "communication flow must remain open."
"As for the armed forces, which is a sovereign entity, opening lines will not be right because it only confuses efforts to protect the West Philippine Sea and other maritime areas.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines expressed support for the Defense chief’s decision, saying that such direct communication is only used as a “smokescreen by the Chinese Communist Party to perpetuate their illegal presence, coercive and aggressive actions and deceptive messaging not only on our maritime domain but even on land.”
