Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan’s statement about the use of force, which was viewed by Philippine government officials as a threat, was not merely his personal opinion but reflected the position of the Chinese government.
‘They act very deliberately. Hindi pag-uugali ng ambasador ‘yan, pag-uugali ng gobyerno nila ‘yan (That’s not the ambassador’s conduct, that’s the conduct of their government,’ Defense Secretary Gilberto ‘Gibo’ Teodoro told reporters at the sidelines of the Senate hearing on the 2027 budget of the Department of National Defense (DND) and its attached agencies on Monday.
Asked if the ambassador was merely following orders from his government, Teodoro answered: ‘Does their government or citizens have freedom?… if that was not based from an order, that has long been…you know,’ he said.
Pressed further if he meant that the threat was not coming from the ambassador himself but from the Chinese government, Teodoro said: ‘It is basically the position of China, amplified, right?’
Teodoro said the responsibility to de-escalate tensions in the West Philippine Sea lies with China and not with the Philippines.
‘That’s not up to us because our actions in the WPS are very responsible. We won’t go into their territory. Do we go into their EEZ? No way. So that’s up to them. The burden is not upon us,’ he said.
‘Our burden is to protect our countrymen and for them not to lose their rights,’ he added. ‘That’s why we are strengthening our defense. You don’t need to match them 100 percent. We just need to be resilient on our own to enable us to do what we need to do in a more independent and more reliable manner. Of course [with our alliances].’