Defense Secretary Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro Jr. said on Tuesday that China’s assertion of a 10-dash line in the South China Sea (SCS), which encroaches on the West Philippine Sea (WPS), remains the primary driver for the escalating tensions in the region.

In a media interview, Teodoro expressed regret over the heightened security situation in the WPS, directly attributing it to China’s contested ten-dash-line claim.

“China wants us to go to the small details to forget the main message. The main message is: The ten-dash-line is the provocation. And everything flows from that,” he said.

Teodoro stressed that Chinese vessels must not swarm in any of the Philippines’ territory.

“They have no business being anywhere in the West Philippine Sea and other areas where we have jurisdiction,” he said.

He said the Chinese government’s narratives “are being whittled down to the tactical level” to distract the Filipino public and the international community from focusing on the root cause of the tension in the WPS.

“They are trying to bait us by straying from the main points and dragging us into an action-drama debate, where we focus on the minor details that stray us away from the main message. Let’s stick to the message,” he said.

He reassured Filipinos that the government, in collaboration with the Department of Foreign Affairs, remains actively engaged in various initiatives to manage the situation in the WPS.

“However, no discussions at the defense level are underway,” he said, underscoring that any agreements or talks “should be open, rooted in international law, and uphold Philippine national interests.”

Teodoro urged an open and transparent dialogue on the country’s territorial disputes with other claimants to the WPS.

China’s illegal drills

Meanwhile, a Philippine Navy official said the Chinese presence in the West Philippine Sea is the cause of the rising tension in the area.

Navy spokesperson for the WPS Commodore Roy Vincent Trinidad attributed the tension to China’s military drills at Escoda (Sabina) Shoal which is within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.

“Their presence in itself is already escalatory, whatever actions they do in furtherance of their illegal, coercive, aggressive, and deceptive presence will only point out that they have no right to be within our exclusive zone. I would not like to speculate on what they will intend, what they plan to do,” Trinidad said in a press conference in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

Last May, China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) launched military drills while Filipino marine experts were conducting a research activity at Escoda Shoal.

China deployed hovercrafts and held “some maneuvers at sea” during the drills.

This raised speculation that Beijing’s actions might be a prelude to taking the island.

Trinidad, however, noted that the Chinese military exercise did not cause alarm to the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

“No, it was not alarming. It’s part of the capability that they have and we know that,” he said.

Trinidad maintained that China’s presence in the Philippines’ territory was “illegal.”

“In the first place, China has no right to be in our EEZ. Whatever statement they make pertaining to the details of our actions — they have no right, they have no, they are not in the proper position,” he emphasized.

“That will only point out that they are intruding into our exclusive economic zone,” he added.