China is 'the biggest disruptor' of peace in Southeast Asia, Philippine defense chief says
The Philippine defense chief said China is “the biggest disruptor” of peace in Southeast Asia and called for stronger international censure over its aggression in the South China Sea.
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine defense chief said Tuesday that China is “the biggest disruptor” of peace in Southeast Asia and called for stronger international censure over its aggression in the South China Sea, a day after China blocked Philippine vessels from delivering food to a coast guard ship at the Sabina Shoal.
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. spoke at an international military conference organized in Manila by the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command amid a spike in clashes between China and the Philippines in the disputed South China Sea and in its airspace.
China is “the biggest disruptor of international peace” in Southeast Asia, Teodoro told the conference, which was attended by military officials and senior diplomats from the U.S. and allied countries.
He later told reporters on the sidelines of the conference that international statements of concern against China’s increasingly assertive actions in the disputed waters and elsewhere were “not enough.”
International statements of concern against China’s increasingly assertive actions are “not enough,” Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said Tuesday.Aaron Favila / AP“The antidote is a stronger collective multilateral action against China,” Teodoro said, adding that diplomats and defense officials should determine those stronger steps.
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