Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. on Saturday accused China of using threats and “disinformation through avoidance” after Beijing defended the arrest of more than 100 undocumented Filipino workers in the country.
Teodoro said the Chinese Foreign Ministry continued to evade key questions surrounding the arrests, including whether the Filipinos were involved in illegal activities and whether Chinese embassy officials had intervened in Philippine law enforcement operations.
“The Chinese Foreign Ministry continues to evade the crucial issue,” Teodoro said in a statement.
He said the first issue was whether the arrested Filipinos were involved in illegal activities, noting that Philippine authorities had gathered what he described as “indisputable and legally admissible evidence” through search warrants issued by Philippine courts.
Teodoro cited alleged activities involving the “regurgitation of substandard, radioactively tainted steel,” environmental destruction through the dumping of untreated polluted water into rivers, and the release of untreated toxic fumes.
The second issue, he said, was whether Chinese embassy officials had actively intervened in local law enforcement processes and threatened retaliation against Filipinos.
“The answer, as revealed in a Senate hearing, is yes,” Teodoro said.
He accused the Chinese Foreign Ministry of employing a “classic squid tactic—disinformation through avoidance” in its latest statement against him.
Teodoro also rejected what he described as threats that Filipinos would “bear the brunt” of possible retaliation.
“The Filipino people will not fall for this,” he said, calling the threat to retaliate against Filipinos an “indiscriminate threat” that amounted to “extortion and blackmail beyond doubt.”
“Di tayo pasisiil! (We will not be intimidated!)” Teodoro said.
