By Priam Nepomuceno | Philippine News Agency
China has been consistently denying the country the right to access its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said Tuesday.
“It’s the same story over and over again. They have been more aggressive denying us access to our EEZ in the WPS,” Teodoro said during a joint press conference at the Western Command headquarters in Puerto Princesa, Palawan.
Teodoro was with visiting United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III.
He added that China has been using “pseudo-military vessels” disguised as China Coast Guard vessels and maritime militia ships in various areas of the WPS.
China also conducts aggressive “information operations” against the Philippines.
Teodoro said this was further highlighted by Chinese reaction to the newly signed General Security of Military Information Agreement between the Philippines and the US.
“If you weren’t paranoid, you wouldn’t comment about it, so far as I’m concerned, because it is something bilateral between the United States and the Philippines. So all of these actions to me prove the existence of some motive which is brought about by a close political system, excuse me, a political system where the external controls the internal political environment,” he added.
Austin agreed with Teodoro’s observations, describing China’s behavior as “concerning.”
“You’ve heard me say that a number of times. They’ve used dangerous and escalatory measures to enforce their expansive South China Sea maritime claims,” Austin said.
Austin said that he would not speculate and make any “hypotheticals” when it comes to the Mutual Defense Treaty, which the US is committed to uphold.
“We stand with the Philippines and we condemn dangerous actions by the PRC (People’s Republic of China) against lawful Philippine operations in the South China Sea. Again, this is concerning behavior. We’ve made this point to (our) Chinese counterparts a number of times. Again, we’ll continue to work with our allies and then make sure that we’re doing the right thing to promote a secure and open Indo-Pacific,” he added.