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Why would China go to the extent of sanctioning Defense Secretary Gibo Teodoro?
On Thursday, June 11, the eve of the Philippines’ Independence Day, Beijing announced it had sanctioned Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., banning him, his wife, and his son from entering China and from transacting with Chinese organizations and individuals.
It’s unprecedented, not only because Teodoro is the alter ego of the President, but also because he is at the forefront of crafting the country’s security framework in a new world order.
It’s an escalation, because it happened more than a week after Philippine authorities said they had spotted a floating platform inside Bajo de Masinloc (or Scarborough Shoal in the West Philippine Sea) that appeared to have an antenna and was carrying personnel on it.
- Bajo de Masinloc is one of Asia’s maritime hot spots. What does China plan to do with it? Bea Cupin tells us in this report.
- A high-tide elevation just over 220 kilometers from the coast of Zambales in Luzon, Bajo de Masinloc is not under the sovereignty of any nation but is within Manila’s exclusive economic zone. Yet China has been controlling access to its maritime resources for more than a decade now, since a tense standoff between both countries caused the Philippines to retreat. What do we know so far about the current Chinese structures there? Read more.
- Manila has urged Beijing to remove the floating structures, filing a protest and several demarches. Two months ago, China already deployed ships to tighten control of the entrance to the shoal.
Now why would China go to the extent of sanctioning the defense chief? Watch Bea Cupin’s Rappler Talk with the defense chief here.
Teodoro’s speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore (which China’s defense minister again boycotted) may have been the last trigger, as he squarely dismissed China’s good faith in negotiations. “For the PRC, therefore, in the Philippine experience, negotiations are therefore not a path to conflict resolution but a means of gaining advantage.”
- Teodoro has made the same accusations against China over time and in so many words. He is the most vocal obstacle to what Beijing would prefer as a “reset” of ties with Manila and which President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. hinted at once before. Asked about this in April, Teodoro blasted China for “illegally denying us our rights” in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) and “illegally occupying Mischief Reef and other areas.”
- China’s move against Teodoro, who has been defense secretary for three years now, makes him the second top government official to be singled out by the Asian giant. A day after his Senate term ended in July 2025, former senator Francis Tolentino was sanctioned by China for making “malicious remarks and moves” against China that were “detrimental to China’s interests and China-Philippines relations.” Marcos recently appointed him labor secretary.
- This year has seen China ramping up its attacks on the Philippines as the latter expanded its military ties beyond the US and broadened its defense alliances. Remember the word war between Filipino and Chinese officials in February?
The Department of Foreign Affairs described the recent measure against Teodoro as an “unfriendly act that further complicates bilateral relations.”
Long wait
Indeed, there are sanctions that are uncalled for, but there are also those that beg to be made with urgency.
It will be a week to this day, Monday, June 15, since 18-year-old Rene Baterbonia and 21-year-old Divine Adili drowned in the treacherous waters of Aurora province, which sits on the country’s eastern seaboard — constantly battered by strong winds and fierce seas.
They were training with their Ateneo teammates in a university-sanctioned activity, yet their deaths have yet to merit any act of command responsibility from those who sent them there.
- It took Ateneo coach Tab Baldwin four long days, on Friday, June 12, to make a public apology for the June 8 deaths.
- Instead of putting him on preventive suspension — as is expected in cases that demand command responsibility — Ateneo announced that it had asked Baldwin and team manager Epok Quimpo to go “on leave.” Add to that the university leadership’s infuriatingly careful statements and delayed acts of contrition.
- Our sports editor Jasmine Payo notes in this piece that the annual boot camp for Ateneo basketball players has been talked about in past years, with some describing it as “hell week” and “deadly.” Yet Jasmine says it seemed no one at Ateneo questioned the ruthless training that resulted in multiple championships. And there’s the rub.
- Adding to public anxiety is the involvement of multiple agencies in investigating the deaths, which may have a point since they occurred outside a sports arena, but clearly weakens the oversight mandate of existing sports associations, notably the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), in disciplining teams and players. The UAAP is now left urging a speedy probe into something it can — and should — investigate on its own. And so we ask: Will the UAAP suspend Ateneo?
Lest we forget: a powerful tremor shook many parts of Mindanao on June 8, razing buildings to the ground, breaking bridges and roads, and causing dim prospects for students now without schools. For the Mindanao State University in General Santos City, it’s back to zero. Here’s how to help affected communities.
Here are some of Rappler’s bests that you shouldn’t miss:
Delfin Dioquino profiles Rene Baterbonia, who “needed no extra motivation as he saw basketball as a way to give his family a better life.” Rob Andrew Dongiapon introduces us to Divine Adili from Nigeria, a diligent student who loved SpongeBob.
Dwight de Leon raises a school of thought that challenges the 16-vote threshold for convicting impeached Vice President Sara Duterte. Here’s the list of private prosecutors in the trial.
Lance Spencer Yu and Trisha Concepcion sit down with the Aetas of Kalangitan, the resettlement community that they have been living in since the eruption of Mount Pinatubo 35 years ago.
Christa Escudero and Aidan Bernales decode Taylor Swift’s lyrics as she was inducted to the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
– Rappler.com
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