This photo taken on April 23, 2023, shows the Philippine Coast Guard vessel BRP Malapascua (left) maneuvering as a Chinese coast guard ship cuts its path at Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal in the Spratly Islands in the disputed South China Sea. (AFP)
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines should not be complacent or laid back amid the continued race for territory and influence in the West Philippine Sea and worldwide, Department of National Defense (DND) chief Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said on Wednesday.
“[T]he intensity of the need to focus on protecting our sovereignty, our sovereign rights, in the Exclusive Economic Zone and other jurisdictions of the country become more paramount now, as the whole world is in a race for resources, in a race for territories, in a race for resources. We cannot be laidback here,” said Teodoro during a Commission on Appointments (CA) hearing on his ad interim appointment as defense secretary.
According to Teodoro, the country needs to be “cognizant,” pointing out that the nation can “use diplomacy.”
“However, if diplomacy is not backed up by a strong spinal cord, then we will just be stymied by a greater force,” he stressed.
In the same hearing, Teodoro bared the significant decline in the country’s internal security threats, but insisted that the Philippines should not be complacent despite this development.
Teodoro said the DND would “shift its focus from internal defense to external defense,” in line with President Bongbong Marcos Jr.’s directive.
He, however, stressed that this transition should not “sacrifice the gains in internal security.”