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Saturday, July 5, 2025
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Teodoro urges China to rebuild ‘trust’ first with Philippines

Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. emphasized on Wednesday that rebuilding trust is crucial for China to become a reliable dialogue partner in resolving maritime disputes effectively.

“For dialogue to be effective, it must be coupled with trust. And China has a lot of trust building to do to be an effective negotiating partner in dispute settlement. We have to call a spade a spade,” Teodoro said.

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The Philippines’ defense chief acknowledged that the Filipinos’ lack of trust with China has been the “biggest stumbling block” in the ongoing dispute resolution efforts between Manila and Beijing.

Teodoro’s statement follows his remarks to a query from a Chinese military official regarding the Philippines’ role in a so-called potential “proxy war” in Asia.

“Now, to our Chinese interlocutors, I shall address you collectively. And thank you for the propaganda spiels disguised as questions. Unfortunately, in my personal opinion, the fact that the question was asked in the way it does, engenders a deficit of trust in China’s words vis-a-vis its actions,” he said.

Teodoro also recalled that in 1995, China constructed bamboo structures around Mischief Reef (also known as Panganiban Reef), which lies some 250 west of Palawan and part of the Kalayaan Island Group.

When the Philippines raised objections to these activities, China asserted that the structures were merely “temporary shelters” for its fishermen.

However, the Secretary of National Defense noted that these sites were ultimately transformed into “artificial military island, heavily militarized.”

“China says that it has peaceful intentions. Why does it continue to deny the Philippines its rightful provenance under international law and UNCLOS? (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) And as proof of this, we do not stand alone. None have agreed with China, and none has condemned the Philippines for standing up against China in the face of a threat to its territorial integrity and sovereignty,” Teodoro said.

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