Who’s pro-China? Those who don’t recognize West Philippine Sea – Gibo

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of National Defense (DND) follows only “objective criteria and no other standard” in appraising reputation of citizens, Secretary Gilbert Teodoro said as he shrugged off Vice President Sara Duterte’s dare that he name pro-China officials.

“In this situation, the standard is simple: who not only opposes AO29, but also refuses to recognize it – both elements being necessary, especially in light of our recent filing of nautical charts for Bajo de Masinloc and Panatag,” he said.

He was referring to Administrative Order No. 29 signed by then president Benigno Aquino III on Sept. 5, 2012 officially adopting the name West Philippine Sea for portions of the South China Sea located on the western side of the Philippine archipelago that fall within the country’s 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone.

“In the same way that red-tagging and other such ad hoc practices are not employed by this organization, tagging Filipinos on the basis of belief rather than covert or overt acts is not done by the defense department,” Teodoro said.

Duterte earlier challenged the DND chief to name pro-China officials, claiming that even President Marcos might be perceived as one.

“You can’t just release a statement and not name the officials. And of course even the President might be suspect as long as there’s no list,” she said.

Teodoro, at a forum last week, said government officials are sworn to uphold Philippine laws, including administrative orders issued by the President.

“If you’re in government, it binds you. And if you’re elected, you just don’t swear to the Constitution but to all administrative orders, because administration orders issued by the President are based on the Constitution and have the power of a law,” Teodoro explained.

In a joint statement with Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defense Richard Marles, Teodoro also “expressed serious concern over the situation in the South China Sea, particularly China’s vessels engaging in destabilizing and dangerous conduct towards Philippine vessels.”

They issued the joint statement at the conclusion of the 3rd Philippines-Australia Defense Ministers’ Meeting in Darwin. The two officials also cited “recent dangerous actions taken by China’s Coast Guard at Second Thomas (Ayungin) Shoal, resulting in injuries to Philippine Navy personnel.”

Reacting to Duterte’s challenge to Teodoro, Philippine Coast Guard spokesman for the West Philippine Sea Rear Admiral Jay Tarriela said that while he does not have a list of pro-China officials, he has “personal criteria for considering someone a traitor to the Philippines.”

He said his personal criteria include refusing to take a stand on the WPS issue while instilling fear of war among Filipinos, remaining silent to Chinese harassment and opposing the government’s transparency initiatives.

As Teodoro and Tarriela rebuffed Duterte on her dare, Beijing has officially confirmed the deaths of two China Coast Guard (CCG) personnel from a collision in the West Philippine Sea last year.

This developed as Chinese government-owned media Global Times published on Thursday new academic input claiming Batanes has “long maintained close and integrated ties with China’s Taiwan” than with the Philippines.