Department of National Defense (DND) Sec. Gilberto Teodoro Jr. called on allied countries and friendly nations to support the Philippines’ efforts in fighting for the West Philippine Sea (WPS) and promoting a rules-based international order so as not to be a “victim” of China’s expansionist claims.

Teodoro said that the Philippines’ is not merely upholding its own sovereignty and sovereign rights when it defends its rights in the WPS as it could be considered a “test case” for the agreed upon interpretations of the civilized world of international law, particularly the law of the sea.

“Please help the Philippines be, as (US) Ambassador (MaryKay L.) Carlson said, ‘a global leader in enforcing and upholding rules-based international order, norms of international law,’ and do not let the Philippines be a victim for standing up to international law,” Teodoro said during the 35th Military Law Operations (MILOPS) annual conference on Tuesday, Aug. 27.

There have been at least six recorded incidents of hostile engagements between China and the Philippines this month alone, the latest of which involved the blocking of Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessels to supply BRP Teresa Magbanua in Escoda (Sabina) Shoal on Aug. 26.

Teodoro said discussions were ongoing between the Philippines and United States to “broaden” the interpretations of the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT), a 1951 defense pact which requires both nations to support each other in case of an armed attack.

Article IV of the MDT states that “each Party recognizes that an armed attack in the Pacific area on either of the Parties would be dangerous to its own peace and safety and declares that it would act to meet the common dangers in accordance with its constitutional processes.”

Under Article V, it describes an armed attack as an attack “on the metropolitan territory of either of the Parties, or on the island territories under its jurisdiction in the Pacific or on its armed forces, public vessels or aircraft in the Pacific.”

“I think we should broaden the scope of the MDT to face a dynamic and cunning adversary,” Teodoro said.

“There are ongoing talks, not to broaden the scope of the MDT, but to broaden the interpretations to make it more dynamic and not fall into China’s trap,” he added.

Teodoro further stated that nations should adhere to the tenets of international law, especially the United Nations (UN) Charter, in the midst of regional security challenges. 

“Let's go back to the foundation that is Article 4 of the UN Charter, which does not allow any state to use force or threaten, even the word ‘threaten to use force,’ in asserting its territorial claims. That is foundational in a charter which was made post World War II,” he stressed.

 The defense chief said that the “repeated transgressions” by China aims to test how a body of law freely agreed upon and signed by them “can be shaped or remolded into what they think is their version of international law.”

“And surely, the nexus is shaping a version for their own insular interests, which means it's a zero-sum game. Their game, the world's loss,” he said.