Defense chief Teodoro: China gov’t fueling ‘sinophobia’, not PH

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. (AP Phot0 / file)

MANILA, Philippines — The Chinese government is the leading cause of “sinophobia” and not the Philippines, according to Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. 

Sinophobia is defined as the “fear or intense dislike or hatred of China and anything or anybody from China.”

“No, I think there is if ever there is sinophobia, gawa ng overreach ng Chinese Communist Party at Xi Jinping (… the overreach of the Chinese Communist Party and Xi Jinping causes this),”  Teodoro said in an ambush interview on Wednesday when asked about China’s claim that the Philippine government is causing sinophobia. 

“Hindi lamang sa buong mundo kung hindi taong bayan nila mismo. Kaya ito ay nagiging resulta nito ang pagwawala ng tiwala ng tao sa common Chinese person na hindi naman dapat. Gawa ng gobyerno nila,” he stressed. 

(This is not only done worldwide but also among their people. Because of them, there is a distrust of common Chinese people, which should not be the case.)

“I will say without hesitation that they are the main cause of sinophobia,” Teodoro further said. 

Since January,  China Coast Guard vessels have been spotted  within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.  

Beijing’s continued aggression was based on its assertion of sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, including most of the West Philippine Sea.

It continues to reject the 2016 arbitral ruling that effectively dismissed its claims and ruled in favor of Manila.