AFP: China paper twisting narratives

Gilberto Teodoro Jr, Secretary of National Defense of the Philippines, delivers his speech during the 22nd Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore, Sunday, June 1, 2025. —AP Photo/Anupam Nath

MANILA, Philippines — Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. and Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. on Saturday slammed “malicious narratives” by Chinese state newspaper the China Daily on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, supposedly aimed at discrediting the Philippines’ stance on the West Philippine Sea.

The alleged journalists approached Brawner, violating protocol and using “selective footage” in the China Daily article titled “Philippine military chief dodges questions,” the AFP said in a statement.

“This article is a blatant piece of propaganda aimed at discrediting the AFP and undermining the Philippines’ position in the West Philippine Sea,” it said.

READ: PH allies decry China’s aggression near Sandy Cay in West PH Sea

In the video published by the China Daily, a young woman claiming to be a reporter chased Brawner and asked him about the Philippine government’s plans on Sandy Cay, a string of sandbars near Pag-asa (Thitu) Island that China calls Tiexian Reef.

Brawner politely declined to answer.

Two Chinese individuals in the video said Philippine officials “have consistently refused to answer questions from Chinese journalists since tensions escalated in the South China Sea.”

In a video released by AFP, Teodoro criticized what he called their disrespectful interviews and twisting of narratives on WeChat.

“Instead of sending defense officials, they are sending out young people posing as journalists who are also their intelligence agents to ask us questions and then come up with twisted narratives,” he said. /cb