Philippine defence chief defiant after China sanctions

Defence minister Gilberto Teodoro, along with his spouse and child, would be barred from entering mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau. (EPA Images pic)

BEIJING: The Philippines defence minister was defiant on Friday after Beijing sanctioned him for what it termed “irresponsible remarks” as the two nations grapple over the disputed South China Sea.

Gilberto Teodoro as well as his spouse and child will be banned from entering China’s mainland, Hong Kong and Macau, an unnamed foreign ministry spokesperson said in an online statement on Thursday.

It added that “organisations and individuals in China” will not be allowed to “engage in any transaction, cooperation or other activities with him and his spouse and child”.

The two countries have in recent years regularly dealt with flare-ups in tensions over the disputed South China Sea.

Beijing claims the strategic waterway nearly in its entirety, despite an international ruling that said its assertions are baseless.

In a statement early Friday, Teodoro said he had been sanctioned for “speaking truth”.

“Their own countrymen and the others under their control suffer far worse,” he said. “I will just keep doing my duty and uphold our nation in the face of the wickedness they are committing here and even in our seas.”

Manila reacted to the sanctions late Thursday by saying that “the Philippines views it as an unfriendly act that further complicates the bilateral relations”.

China regularly deploys navy and coast guard vessels to bar the Philippines from important reefs and islands in the area.

The Chinese statement said Teodoro’s rhetoric “undermines China’s legitimate interests and sabotages China-Philippines relations”, without specifying to which remarks it referred.

At a summit in Singapore last month, Teodoro criticised Beijing’s activities in the disputed waters, saying Manila “will not sacrifice our territorial integrity and sovereignty”.

Asked last week about Teodoro’s remarks at the summit, Beijing’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said that he “is known to vilify China”.

“All he cares is selfish personal gains to the point that he would perform political theatrics even when people’s well-being is at stake,” Mao said.