DND defends Teodoro after Chinese Embassy slams ‘anti-China’ remarks
Defense Sec. Gilberto Teodoro Jr. during the 22nd Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore last June 1, 2025. —AP PHOTO/ANUPAM NATH
MANILA, Philippines — Defense chief Gilberto Teodoro Jr’s echoes the view of a vast majority of Filipinos, the Department of National Defense (DND) said on Friday after the Chinese Embassy slammed the secretary’s “anti-China” remarks.
The Chinese Embassy took exception to Teodoro’s remarks against Chinese President Xi Jin Ping’s pronouncements during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Plus pushing for a “fair” and multipolar world order.
Teodoro scoffed at this, saying China’s activities led to a “deficit of trust and credibility,” even citing the country’s treatment of Falun Gong and the Tiananmen massacre.
READ: Teodoro scoffs at China’s Xi’s call for ‘fairness,’ multipolarity
In a statement, the Chinese Embassy urged Teodoro to “refrain from being the source of deficit of trust.”
“We hope that the Philippine Defense Secretary could view the world with open eyes, move beyond the Cold War mentality, and refrain from being the source of deficit of trust,” the embassy said in a statement.
The embassy also noted that it’s not the first time Teodoro made “anti-China remarks.”
“His words showed nothing but his arrogance, disrespect for truth and ignorance of history,” it further stated.
DND spokesperson Arsenio Andolong defended Teodoro’s remarks, saying Teodoro “views the world with open eyes and is blessed to be in a country, which cherishes freedom of speech, thought, and expression.”
“As a member of a free society, the Secretary echoes the view of a vast majority of the Filipino people and the rest of the free world that China’s narratives are the product of an opaque, unaccountable, and autocratic system, which deprives its citizens and other areas that they have forcibly occupied of liberties and human rights, distorts international law, and paints peace-loving countries as supposed aggressors,” Andolong said in a statement.
85 percent distrust China
The latest Octa Research survey revealed that 85 percent of Filipinos distrust China due to West Philippine Sea disputes. China claims sovereignty in almost the entire South China Sea, but the historic arbitral tribunal ruling in 2016 effectively dismissed this in favor of Manila’s sovereign rights.
READ: Teodoro: 85% China distrust means ‘malign influence’ ops not effective
Andolong also echoed Teodoro’s remarks against China’s push for a multipolar world order.
“Filipinos desire peace—a rules-based one, which is fair and transparent, and one not guaranteed by transactional multi-polar arrangements,” Andolong said.
“I thank God for being able to live in a country that allows me not only to have open eyes but a mouth which is free to speak the truth and will not land me in a prison or consign me to a forced labor camp like the Uighurs and other unfortunate victims of a repressive regime,” he added. /cb
