DND Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro Jr. (PNA file photo by Priam F. Nepomuceno)
MANILA – Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. took exception to China's claim that the Philippines is acting as a puppet of the United States in standing up for its rights in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
"The favorite Chinese narrative, is that this is all a play of the United States and that we are just marionettes or puppets or ‘tuta’ ng mga Amerikano na sumusunod sa playbook nila (subordinates of the Americans following their playbook)," Teodoro said in a Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon briefing on Wednesday afternoon.
He added that this Chinese allegation is "very insulting" to all Filipinos as it assumes that the country has no ability to think and stand up for its rights.
"And I think this is really looking down on us and that really disgusts me, and so hinihimok ko po ating mga kababayan na talagang tumindig laban dito sa pag insulto ng China sa atin (I am urging our country to stand-up versus this insult of China against us)," Teodoro said.
Earlier, the DND chief said the Philippines is not looking for any conflict or war with China but merely protecting its maritime territories from continued Chinese encroachment.
He added that protecting the country's territory is accepted under international law.
Teodoro noted that China's expansive territorial claims that encroach on the West Philippine Sea and the country's other territories are contrary to the "norms ng international law".
He said the misinformation being spread by China, claiming that the Philippine presence in the WPS is illegal, is being taken seriously by the government.
'Sea of Asia'
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said plans to use the term “Sea of Asia” for what is currently referred to as the West Philippine Sea is intended to make the controversy in the area relevant to the rest of the world and does not signify a weakening of the country’s resolve in asserting its claim.
“The suggestion to use the term Sea of Asia for what is the West Philippine Sea is a strategy aimed at making the forthcoming case relevant to the international community. This is in no way an indication of the Philippines diluting or weakening its territorial claims or stance. The suggestion is confined only to this case,” DOJ Undersecretary Mico Clavano said in a statement.
Clavano was referring to the case being prepared by the DOJ to be lodged before an international tribunal on the environmental impact of the Chinese presence in the contested area.
The DOJ said the primary intention behind this suggested term is to engage the international community in a way that transcends territorial disputes.
“By calling it (WPS) the Sea of Asia, we hope to underscore the point that this sea, regardless of the territorial claims and disputes, is a shared heritage and resource for all of Asia, and by extension, the world,” it said.
In a separate statement, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said the case could be done expeditiously, which can be filed by March next year at the latest.
He said they are seeking the advice of legal experts to see how they could conceptualize the case to be filed before an international tribunal in connection with the environmental problems that are happening at the WPS, or what the DOJ now calls the Sea of Asia.
“Sinimulan namin ang ganitong pag-uusap sapagkat ang kalikasan ay isang bagay na hindi natin maaaring isantabi lamang. Ang buong mundo ay iisang sistema lang ng kalikasan, kaya dapat kung ano man ang nangyayari sa ating bansa, ay makita rin ng buong mundo na maaaring mangyari sa kanilang bansa, sa kanilang lugar (We are taking this approach because the environment is something that cannot be set aside. The whole world is one environment system. Thus, the whole world should know what is happening in our country as it could also happen to other countries),” he said.
Remulla said they would present satellite images, cinematography, and location-based photography to show the actions undertaken by China, as well as earlier documentation on the existence of islands in the area. (With a report from Benjamin Pulta/PNA)
