Teodoro warns of China efforts to ‘refocus’ West PH Sea debate

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. on Monday warned of China’s alleged efforts to change the course of the debate regarding the West Philippine Sea (WPS), in light of the supposed “gentlemen’s agreement” between China and former President Rodrigo Duterte.

“Let us not fall into the trap set by Chinese propaganda of refocusing the debate on a so-called promise while deflecting attention away from China’s government, thereby freeing and allowing them to continue with their illegal activities in our EEZ (exclusive economic zone),” Teodoro said in an open letter to Filipinos.

Teodoro issued the letter amid the discourse on the alleged “gentleman’s agreement” of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Duterte in connection with the WPS, as bared by former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque.

“While we realize that accountability is important in the issue on whether or not a so-called ‘gentleman’s agreement’ was forged with China regarding the BRP Sierra Madre and Ayungin Shoal, we Filipinos must not lose sight of the fact that the main threat to our rights in the WPS is the Chinese Governments illegal activities,” Teodoro said.

GMA News Online has sought comments from the Chinese embassy on the matter but it has yet to provide a statement as of posting time.

Chinese officials, in past statements, have accused the Philippines of breaking the supposed agreement.

According to Roque, the agreement stipulates that the Philippines will not send repair materials to BRP Sierra Madre, a decrepit Philippine ship aground in Ayungin Shoal in the WPS.

However, Salvador Panelo, the chief presidential legal counsel during the Duterte administration, has denied the existence of such agreement, citing Duterte himself.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion in annual ship commerce. Its territorial claims overlap with those of the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei.

Parts of the waters within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone have been renamed as West Philippine Sea.

In 2016, an international arbitration tribunal in The Hague said China’s claims had no legal basis, a decision that Beijing has rejected.

A latest resupply mission to BRP Sierra Madre was marred by a water cannon attack by the Chinese Coast Goard, which left three Philippine Navy personnel injured. —KBK, GMA Integrated News