Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro criticized China’s warning against the largest-ever joint military exercises between the Philippines and the United States, saying Beijing’s intentions have always been “sinister” and lacking transparency.
“There is no trust at all in China because their intentions are sinister and non-transparent,” Teodoro said in a local interview.
Thousands of troops from the Philippines and the United States, joined for the first time by a significant contingent of Japanese forces, began the annual Balikatan Exercises on Monday. The drills, meaning “shoulder to shoulder”, are among the largest to date.
The exercises include live-fire drills in northern Luzon facing the Taiwan Strait, as well as in areas near the disputed South China Sea, where Philippine and Chinese forces have repeatedly clashed.
China strongly opposed the exercises, with its foreign ministry warning that the United States, Japan, and the Philippines were “playing with fire.”
“What the Asia-Pacific region needs most is peace and tranquility,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun. He added that countries should avoid “binding themselves together in the name of security,” warning such actions could “backfire.”
Teodoro, however, defended the drills, calling them an exercise in “collective deterrence,” and said that if China reacts negatively, it only shows that their plans are being deterred.
“If the shoe fits, it’s not the problem of the participant, it is their problem,” he said, adding that China’s statements reinforce perceptions of an expansionist agenda and opposition to freedom of navigation and international norms.
He also addressed the use of Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites, saying their utilization by US forces remains “marginal” due to unresolved land and infrastructure issues.
The Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement allows US forces rotational access to selected Philippine military bases and the prepositioning of defense equipment.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. expanded the agreement in 2023, granting US access to additional bases across the country, including in northern Luzon, an expansion that has drawn strong objections from Beijing.
