China Accuses Philippine Politician at ASEAN Meeting — SkimNews
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- China alleged at the Oct. 29 defence gathering in Cebu that an unnamed Philippine politician had imposed obstacles to its participation, running counter to the meeting’s open and inclusive spirit and violating diplomatic norms.
- Gilberto Teodoro said the Philippine defence ministry had sent China an invitation and allowed a robust exchange, adding that no other ASEAN member raised the same participation complaint.
- China was represented at the meeting by a military attache while Defence Minister Dong Jun was absent; he was likely attending a key Communist Party meeting in Beijing that week.
- Pete Hegseth pledged that the United States would defend its interests and those of allies and partners, while proposing greater defence cooperation with the 11-member ASEAN bloc.
- Shinjiro Koizumi and Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro expressed serious concern about the increasing scale and frequency of what they called China’s coercive activities in disputed waters.
- Gilberto Teodoro pressed the 2016 arbitral ruling with other South China Sea claimant states, arguing that its underlying principles were international law rather than a Philippines-only issue; Beijing rejects the ruling.
- Gilberto Teodoro defended the Philippines’ growing network of defence partnerships, rejected suggestions that it undermined regional stability and called China’s maritime claims “unilateral and illegal.”
Why it matters: The Philippines gained a broader diplomatic forum for its maritime case: Teodoro pressed the 2016 tribunal ruling with Japan and other claimant states at the 11-member gathering. Beijing’s complaint about its own participation exposed a divide, even as defence officials still stressed practical cooperation despite differences over the South China Sea.
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