Teodoro to China: 'Sila ang squatter'

Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. on Wednesday had some scathing words for China as he slammed their encroachment in Philippine waters and described them as illegal occupants or "squatter."

Teodoro made the remark when asked for his reaction to China's claim over Pag-Asa Island, which is inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

“Eh, ayoko naman matawa dahil bastos naman. Pero itanong mo sa kanila kung anong ibig sabihin. Sasabihin nila siguro indisputable sovereignty ng South China Sea. Ilan ang naniniwala doon? Ang illegal occupation ay kanila,” Teodoro said.

(I don’t want to laugh because that’s rude. But you should ask them what they mean. They will say that it’s the indisputable sovereignty of the South China Sea. How many people believe that? They are the illegal occupants.)

“Kapag in-occupy ng Pilipinas ang Hainan Island, ‘yun illegal occupation ‘yun. Pero ‘yung nandito-dito sila within our 200-mile EEZ, sila ang squatter. Illegal occupant sila dito, no,” he added.

(If the Philippines occupies Hainan Island, that is an illegal occupation. But if they are here within our 200-mile EEZ, they are the squatter. They are the illegal occupants.)

On Sunday, the military said a Philippine Navy vessel warned off a China Navy vessel for conducting "dangerous maneuvers" off Pag-asa Island in the West Philippine Sea.

Following this, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said the Philippines’ “illegal occupation" of Pag-Asa Island "seriously violated China’s sovereignty.”

"It is reasonable and lawful for Chinese warships to patrol the waters near Zhongye Island,” he had said.

The incident is the latest in a series of attempts by China to monitor and block resupply missions to personnel in Philippines-occupied features in the West Philippine Sea.

China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, through which more than $3 trillion of trade passes each year.

Teodoro, meanwhile, joked that China could apply for a Philippine VISA.

“Pwede naman silang mag apply ng VISA. Bibigyan sila,” he said. 

An arbitral tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, has invalidated China’s sweeping claims over the South China Sea and ruled that no country can claim sovereign rights over the shoal.

China, however, has refused to recognize the ruling and remains aggressive in the West Philippine Sea.  —VAL, GMA Integrated News