Defense chief Gilberto Teodoro Jr. on Thursday said the "expansionist policy of China" is escalating tensions in the South China Sea.
Teodoro said China's moves in the SCS, including in the West Philippine Sea, are causing problems not only between Beijing and Manila but also with the United States and Vietnam, and "the other actors."
"Their 10-dash line (map), actually, is the best proof that they want to escalate tensions within the area," Teodoro said in an interview.
"Because now even Brunei is affected, and India is affected, Nepal is affected, and the Taiwan issue for me — we have repeated time and time again that the Taiwan issue is a Chinese issue, not [involving] us," he said.
The Defense chief said the whole world is watching what is happening in the South China Sea because "supply chains are affected" because of the volume of commerce that passes through that body of water.
The Philippines, China, Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam have overlapping claims in the SCS.
Teodoro lamented that China's activities at Scarborough Shoal have complicated the issue in the SCS. He was referring to the artificial structures China has built at the shoal and its harassment of Filipino fishermen in the area.
"What is the real issue here? The real issue is Scarborough, the harassment activities by China," he said.
"For us, by asserting our rights over Philippine-registered vessel BRP Sierra Madre and other activities, because they do not recognize our 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone, they do not recognize our other claims," Teodoro said.
He stressed that the Philippines is not trying to contain China but is merely enforcing international law in the West Philippine Sea.
A 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling in The Hague recognized Philippine entitlements in the West Philippine Sea, its exclusive economic zone. The court also dismissed as without basis China's original nine-dash line claim over nearly the entire South China Sea.
"Now China keeps saying that we are containing them. If you use the word contain, that means to say you have an intention to expand. So, for me, it is disingenuous of them to use that term," Teodoro said.
"Now, what I want to underscore to our people is that we are not being xenophobic. I mean, bonafide trilateral relations with trade, industry, technology transfers with China are welcome, and we really need it," he said.
"However, we must [remain] at arm's length, follow best practices, follow sustainability, and, actually, whatever investments come here should employ Filipinos and not employ foreign nationals en masse," he added.