Defense Secretary Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro Jr. accused China of being the “biggest disruptor” of international peace and attempting to “fragment” the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region.

“We should get together in ASEAN and protect each other’s sovereign rights and sovereignty while settling our internal disputes between and amongst ourselves within the context of the ASEAN Charter,” Teodoro said during the 35th International Military Law and Operations Conference (MILOPS 24) in Manila on Tuesday.

Teodoro also called on the international community to prevent China from defining “what ASEAN centrality means.”

“Yet, what is China trying to do? It’s trying to break us apart. And that, fortunately, will not happen because I believe firmly that our leaders realize that in this region, China, although without saying it, and I’ll say it for you, is the biggest disruptor of international peace in the ASEAN region,” he said.

Teodoro emphasized that the Philippines is serious about protecting and defending its sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea, which China claims.

“I believe they’re not undeterrable because I think it’s just a question of getting a worldwide consensus as much as we can — a principle of mass public opinion worldwide,” the defense chief said.

“And secondly, for the Philippines, collaboratively and on our own, it’s to create enough deterrence militarily in order to give them pause that we are serious in protecting our sovereignty and we will fight for it,” he added.

Teodoro cited these two principles that would help the ASEAN region to acquire collective public opinion that will further shape the international order.

“What people don’t realize is that there is an active effort to reshape the international order, publicly articulated by China anyway, to create a new world order. And what is this new world order? This new world order we gain, it will be China-led,” Teodoro pointed out.

Further, Teodoro noted that Beijing’s vast claims to almost the entire South China Sea, “without any basis whatsoever, and even their historical basis” remains “questionable.”

“That’s what the world should condemn. And I think conferences like this should generate enough traction, momentum, through the outputs in order to help generate that kind of consensus internationally, to force political leaders to act decisively, at least on a basis of principle, within ASEAN ourselves,” he said.

“We should not allow China to define what ASEAN centrality means,” he added.

PCG aborts resupply mission

On Monday, two Philippine Coast Guard vessels were forced to abort their resupply mission to the BRP Teresa Magbanua at Escoda Shoal due to the overwhelming numbers of Chinese ships.