Defense Secretary Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro Jr. believes that Chinese President Xi Jinping's excessiveness could jeopardize Beijing's internal stability and its relations with other countries.

In an ambush interview on Monday in Palawan, Teodoro stressed the need for the government to act swiftly in preventing China from continuing its unlawful acts, particularly blocking the country’s resupply missions in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

“Hindi naming pwedeng pag-usapan ngunit ang alam natin—ang Communist Party ng China, hindi tatantan ‘yan kung hindi natin haharangin pati yung internal na pagkakalat nila ng mga gawain na hindi kanais-nais (We cannot discuss it, but what we know is that the Communist Party of China will not back down unless we stop them, including their internal spread of undesirable activities),” Teodoro said.

Teodoro lamented Beijing’s exploitation sites near the Philippine waters, including the arrest of Chinese nationals involved in illegal activities, such as gambling and illegal operations of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO).

“The latest one was in Grande Island in Subic base. It’s a joint operation,” he said.

The Department of National Defense (DND) had previously proposed the idea of converting the 42-hectare Grande Island and its smaller counterpart, Chiquita, into military outposts, following the arrest of a Chinese national suspected of conducting espionage and other operations that undermine national security.

Meanwhile, Teodoro emphasized that the Chinese nationals arrested in the Philippines were apprehended for engaging in illegal activities.

“The thing is, what we are arresting here are illegal activities. Recently, China executed four Canadians. I mean, that goes to show you, it's not China per se—but a political clique that disregards everything,” Teodoro said.

He then condemned Xi’s harmful policies.

“At iyan, dahil kay Xi Jinping at ang kanyang pagmamalabis (And that's because of Xi Jinping and his excessiveness). That will destroy the leadership of his Party in China and the goodwill planted by his predecessors—he destroyed it,” Teodoro said.

“But it's also a lesson that in China—the people who control their government—they’re not people who you can rely on to approach legal processes fairly. If their constitution itself—Xi Jinping thought is already part of the constitution of China as a core philosophy. And he's a core leader. And scholars say it's malleable. It means that this is a change. Whatever they think, that's it,” he added.