MANILA, Philippines — Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr.has had enough of China’s unceasing mockery of the Philippines and Beijing's consistent narrative twists of the real situation in the West Philippine Sea (WPS.)
Over the past weeks, social media has been abuzz with collective anger of Filipinos over China’s aggressions with their ludicrous claim on Batanes islands, their "dehumanizing" monkey video and the recent baton hitting incident seriously injuring Philippine Navy officers.
Despite their aggressive actions documented in videos, China still blames the Philippines for triggering tensions in the WPS. On Monday (July 20), Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) personnel came dangerously close to Philippine commissioned ship BRP Sierra Madre (LS-57) in Ayungin Shoal.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines said Philippine Navy officers “calmly” and “non‑confrontationally” drove them away but the CCG crew resorted to hitting a Navy sailor with a wooden baton causing serious head injuries. Another navy officer was also wounded during the incident.
Chinese senior ambassador Jing Quan however yet again came to Beijing’s defense saying Philippine Navy personnel were caught “doing some construction work,” which he claimed was prohibited under the arrangement.
“So our people found your soldiers… They’re doing some construction work on the ship, so we sent boats to check… That’s against the spirit of the provisional agreement,” Jing said in a hastily called press briefing at a hotel in Taguig City.
Teodoro fumingly called this out.
“Hindi niya mapapatunayan 'yun. Pinasukan nila ang isang lugar eh so nag-i-imbento na na naman sila. Inimbento nila 'yung engkwentro e, inisplice nila. Papaano pa tayo maniniwala diyan sa sinasabi niyan,” Teodoro told reporters on the sidelines of Philippine-Sweden bilateral meeting on Thursday.
(He won't be able to prove that. They entered a restricted area, so now they’re making things up again. They fabricated the encounter and spliced the footage. How can we believe anything they say?)
Whether or not Manila was doing constructions on BRP Sierra Madre, Teodoro said China has no business meddling into Philippine affairs in its own waters.
“Hindi dapat nila pakialaman yun ano. pangalawa, wala silang karapatan talaga na nandun sila. Walang hiya talaga, I mean, hindi na ako dapat magpigil e, kasi kailangan na meron ng, you know galit na ang taong bayan," Teodoro said.
(They shouldn't meddle with that. Second, they really have no right to be there. They have no shame, I mean, I shouldn't hold back anymore because the public is already furious.)
Teodoro boldly said Beijing is making a fool out of Filipinos already.
“Hindi na natin pwedeng ito ah, walisin sa ilalim ng silong. Lantaran na 'to eh. Inuunggoy na tayo,” Teodoro said.
(We can't sweep this under the rug anymore. This is right out in the open. They’re making fools of us.)
Who are they fooling?
Teodoro also slammed Beijing for its claim that the South China Sea is a “shared home” when in fact it is claiming almost the entire sea.
“Papaano tayo magse-share doon kung inaangkin mo numbenta porsyento, Sino niloloko nila? Pagkatapos ganito ang ginagawa nila. Nandito sila. Magsasabi sila na gusto nila ay kapayapaan. Pagkatapos ganito ang ginagawa nila. Eh papaano tayo maniniwala diyan sa mga 'yan?” Teodoro said.
(How can we share resources there when you're claiming ninety percent? Who are they fooling? And then they do this. They're right here. They say they want peace, and yet this is what they do. How can we ever believe them?)
Teodoro cited an example of China’s deceit when they occupied Mischief Reef in 1995 when Beijing started building octagonal huts in the area which they said were only “shelter” for fisher folks and denied any military intention.
Decades later, it has evolved into a full blown military base where temporary stilt huts were replaced with multi-story structures, radar domes, and communications equipment.
“Gumagawa talaga ng istorya 'yang mga 'yan para magkaroon sila ng paraan paano ka pasukin. 'Yan ang dapat malaman ng ating mga kababayan. May intensyon 'yan. Hindi titigil 'yan. Nasa atin na sugpuin yan, itigil 'yan,” he said.
(They are really making up stories just to find a way to intrude into our territory. That is what our countrymen need to know. They have an intention. They will not stop. It is up to us to suppress this and put a stop to it.)
