China’s intent to control the South China Sea is undeniable, Department of National Defense Secretary Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro said on Wednesday, September 27.

Department of National Defense (DND) Sec. Gilberto “Gibo” C. Teodoro Jr. presented the agency’s proposed P229.9-billion budget for 2024 before the Senate Finance Subcommittee hearing chaired by Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa on Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023. (Senate PRIB Photo)

Teodoro pointed this out as he clarified why he previously used the term “pananakop” (invasion) as a way to describe China’s series of aggressive behavior in the West Philippine Sea.

“Whatever it is, they really have an intent to control the whole South China Sea,” Teodoro told Senate reporters in an interview at the sidelines of the Senate’s budget hearing on the proposed 2024 national budget of the DND and its attached agencies. 

“Maliwanag yun eh. Lumabas pa yung 10-dash line (That’s so clear. They even released the 10-dash line map),” Teodoro said. 

“So kelangan tutulan natin yun, kasi meron tayong (So we need to oppose that, because we have) sovereign rights at meron tayong (and we have) territorial jurisdiction, territorial claims (in that area),” he said.

The appropriate term, he said, is “pagkukubkob” or siege, which he said, is also undeniable on China’s part given the reclamation activities they conduct in the country’s maritime territories and the way they harass the country’s fishermen. 

“Ano ba tawag natin dun (sa ginagawa nila) (How do we regard their actions)?” he pointed out. 

Teodoro, likewise, insisted that the Scarborough Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc is a traditional fishing ground for Filipino fishermen. 

The Philippines has condemned the China Coast Guard’s (CCG) installation of a 300-meter long barrier at the mouth of the shoal, with President Marcos instructing the PCG and the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea to remove the floating barrier. 

Nevertheless, he said the Philippines aims to resolve this conflict with China at the calmest way possible. 

“Kaya nga hinuhubog natin ang ating mga kababayan na magkaisa tayo dito. Ayaw natin awayin ang China. Ayaw natin ng gyera, pero ang teritoryo natin kelangan, angkinin natin at ang mga karapatan, sovereign rights dito dahil hindi lang atin to para sa kinabukasan to. Kailangan ng bansa natin to (That’s why we are teaching our citizens to be united here. We don’t want to engage China. We do not want war, but these territories are ours, and we have rights, sovereign rights here because it’s not just for us, but for our future. Our country needs this),” he said.

At the same time, Teodoro denied the Philippines is stirring up trouble in the WPS as claimed by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Wenbin, who warned the government “not to make any provocations or seek trouble” in the area.

“Di naman tayo nagsi-stir ng trouble. Di naman tayo ang kumukubkob. Yan ang hindi nila maintindihan (We are not stirring up trouble. We are not the ones obstructing. That is something they do not understand),” he said.