Teodoro: PH, allies to take measures if China 'restricts' flights in SCS

Philippine allies will take measures if China tries to restrict freedom of flights in the South China Sea (SCS), according to Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. in an Associated Press (AP) report.

This, as Teodoro described Beijing's growing aggression as "the greatest external threat" to the country's national security.

“The greatest external threat actually is Chinese aggression, Chinese expansionism and the attempt by China to change the international law through the use of force or acquiescence…or its attempt to reshape the world order to one that it controls,” Teodoro said in the AP report.

Teodoro's statement comes after confrontations between the aircraft of China against those from the Philippines, Australia, and the US.

Teodoro said the move is "a very serious transgression of international law, which will demand our response.”

He added in the AP report that "the Philippines will take a combination of measures singularly and with like-minded nations to counteract” such maneuvers from China.

He added that Manila and its allies have already formulated a contingency measure to respond to similar incidents.

'Shadow Play'

China on Friday compared the South China Sea (SCS) dispute with the Philippines to a “shadow play” and warned that “those acting as others’ chess pieces are bound to be discarded.”

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in a press conference talked about the issue between China and the Philippines.

“Wang Yi noted, at an international forum a few weeks ago, an official from a regional country noted that the frictions are like ‘shadow play,’ which is a vivid analogy,” the Chinese foreign affairs ministry said.

“For every move on the sea by the Philippines, there is a screenplay written by external forces, the show is livestreamed by Western media, and the plot is invariably to smear China. People are not interested in watching the same performance again and again,” it added.

The Spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines issued a statement saying that Beijing "will continue to safeguard its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in accordance with law."

"The Philippine side should stop misleading the international community, using the South China Sea issue to instigate disputes, and counting on external forces to undermine peace and stability in the South China Sea region," it added.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), meanwhile, maintains that the issue is not about "strategic rivalry among big powers."

"It is being cast in the light of the strategic rivalry among the big powers, when I feel the issue is really an issue of Philippine interest. How it affects the Philippines has no connection to any kind of strategic rivalry among the big powers," said DFA Sec. Enrique Manalo in a report on 24 Oras Weekend.

Claims

Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual shipborne commerce, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei.

Parts of the South China Sea that fall within Philippine territory have been renamed by the government as West Philippine Sea to reinforce the country’s claim.

The West Philippine Sea refers to the maritime areas on the western side of the Philippine archipelago including Luzon Sea and the waters around, within and adjacent to the Kalayaan Island Group and Bajo de Masinloc.

In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines over China's claims in the South China Sea, saying that it had "no legal basis."
China has refused to recognize the decision. —with reports from Joviland Rita/ VAL, GMA Integrated News