The Department of Foreign Affairs has branded China’s entry ban sanction against Defense Secretary Gibo Teodoro Jr. as an “unfriendly act,” designed to strain further Manila-Beijing’s bilateral ties amid their long-running maritime tensions in the West Philippines Sea. 

The DFA was quick to jump to Teodoro’s defense after he was accused of “repeatedly [making] irresponsible remarks” against Beijing that allegedly erode China’s “legitimate interest” in the contested area. 

As a result, the Defense chief was sanctioned by the Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry on Thursday, barring him from entering the country, including Hong Kong and Macao. 

Although the DFA acknowledged it as the sole prerogative of China, it argued that the move “further complicates” the already tense diplomatic relations shared by Manila and Beijing.

“Such measures do not contribute to building mutual trust, managing differences responsibly, or creating the conditions necessary for constructive engagement between our two countries,” the DFA said late Thursday. 

The sanction applies not only to the Defense chief but also to his wife, Nikki Prieto-Teodoro—Philippine Special Envoy to UNICEF—and their only son. 

Aside from barring their entry, China also banned Teodoro and his immediate family from doing business and conducting any cooperation and other related activities with Chinese organizations and nationals. 

In a separate interview on Friday, DFA Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro doubled down on the Philippines’ defense of Teodoro, suggesting that Beijing could have done better.

“We think what they did to Secretary Teodoro and his family was not right, Lazaro said in an ambush in San Juan City. “However, that’s their sovereign right.”

China did not explicitly cite what particular statement of Teodoro it was referring to, although earlier this month, the Chinese embassy in Manila took strong offense at the Defense chief’s remarks at the Shangri-La Dialogue in late May. 

During the summit, Teodoro reportedly criticized China’s fertilizer and fuel aid to the Philippines amid the oil crisis as “guileful” and a “sugarcoat that doesn’t cut the mustard,” citing Beijing’s relentless aggression in the WPS. 

Teodoro further argued that the assistance lacks long-term good faith and does not make up for China's territorial coercion. 

The Chinese embassy in Manila denounced Teodoro’s tirades, calling him an ingrate and accusing him of advancing his own political agenda with “no regard for the welfare of the Philippine people.”

“For years, China has provided real help to the Philippine people, including vaccines during the Covid-19 pandemic, fertilizer donations amid a global shortage, helping build major infrastructure projects, and offering immediate disaster relief whenever the Philippines was hit,” the embassy stressed. 

“Despite China’s selfless support, Secretary Teodoro couldn’t even bring himself to say thank you— a real-life reenactment of ‘The Farmer and the Snake’,” the statement added. 

Teodoro has been a staunch critic of China’s coercive tactics towards the Philippines and its troops in the contested WPS and has maintained a defiant posture against Beijing’s claims. 

Manila and Beijing have long been embroiled in a maritime dispute, stemming from their overlapping claims in the South China Sea, which overlaps with the WPS. 

China has territorial claims in nearly the entire SCS, notwithstanding a 2016 arbitral ruling that deemed its sovereignty assertion invalid and baseless. 

Although the two nations forged a pact in July last year to de-escalate tensions in the disputed sea, China has persistently made provocations against the Philippines through the use of water cannons, military-grade lasers, and by deploying missiles against Philippine troops and vessels.