Teodoro calls China ''paranoid'' after inking military info agreement with US
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. called China ''paranoid'' after its foreign ministry reminded that security pacts should not target or harm the interest of any third party after the United States and Philippines signed the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) on Monday.
In an interview in Beijing following the signing of GSOMIA between Philippines and the United States, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said that "no military agreement, or defense and security cooperation, in whatever form, should target any third party or harm the interests of any third party".
"Nor should it undermine regional peace or exacerbate regional tensions. The only right choice for safeguarding national security and regional peace and stability is to uphold good-neighborliness and friendship and maintain strategic independence," he added.
In a press conference in Palawan with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Teodoro said China should not comment about the GSOMIA as it is a bilateral agreement which they are not part of.
"They (China) have been very aggressive in their information operations against the Philippines so much so that yesterday even the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA), they had a comment about it. If you weren't paranoid, you wouldn't comment about it, so far as I'm concerned, because it is something bilateral between the United States and the Philippines," he said.
"So all of these actions to me prove the existence of some motive which is brought about by a close political system, a political system where the external controls the internal political environment. Then again, insofar as the Philippines is concerned, in partnership with the United States, our main theme of cooperation here, aside from being treaty allies, stands for upholding of international law and the fundamental values of freedom and democracy," he added.
As Teodoro emphasized China's increasingly aggressive actions in denying the Philippines access to its exclusive economic zone in the West Philippine Sea by deploying "a lot of pseudo-military vessels disguised as Coast Guard and maritime militia vessels", Austin reiterated that "behavior of the PRC (People's Republic of China) has been concerning."
"You've heard me say that a number of times. They've used dangerous escalatory measures to enforce their expansive South China Sea maritime claims," he said.
"We stand with the Philippines, and we condemn dangerous actions by the PRC against lawful Philippine operations in the South China Sea. Again, this is concerning behavior. We've made this point since the signing of the pact. Again, we'll continue to work with our allies and make sure that we're doing it," he added.
GSOMIA, which provides the framework to facilitate the exchange of classified military information between the Philippines and the United States, was signed by Austin and Teodoro in Camp Aguinaldo. Robina Asido/DMS
