Mla-Beijing word war extends to ASEAN meet

LAPU-LAPU CITY, Cebu — Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. shrugged off China’s decision to send a mere defense attaché instead of its defense minister to the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus), as Beijing accused the Philippines of abusing its chairmanship to obstruct China’s participation in the regional security forum.

Teodoro, who chaired this year’s ASEAN defense meetings, dismissed the Chinese allegations, saying they reflected Beijing’s position rather than that of the ASEAN member states.

“Insofar as ASEAN is concerned, I do not believe our ASEAN member countries feel that way. If not, they would have let me know,” Teodoro said in a press conference following the meetings.

Chinese Ministry of National Defense spokesperson Senior Col. Zhang Xiaogang accused Manila of allowing an unnamed politician to act recklessly and use the rotating chairmanship to put obstacles in China’s way.

Zhang claimed the Philippines violated diplomatic protocols and undermined China’s rights as a dialogue partner.

Teodoro countered that ASEAN members, not external dialogue partners, determined the bloc’s procedures and how participating countries were heard.

“They are dialogue partners,” he said, adding that their participation was subject to ASEAN’s rules and limitations.

Lowest-ranked

“How they are going to be heard is for the ASEAN proper to determine and not anybody else,” Teodoro said.

The dispute followed Beijing’s decision to send Senior Capt. Yang Lei, its defense attaché to the Philippines, instead of its defense minister to the meetings. Chinese state media described Yang as the lowest-ranking representative China had sent to the meetings to date.

While Teodoro personally welcomed the arriving defense ministers, including US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Yang was received by Defense Undersecretary Ignacio Madriaga.

“I think an undersecretary receiving an attaché is more than courteous,” Teodoro said.

Former US defense attaché Ray Powell likewise defended the protocol, saying defense ministers and defense attachés were not counterparts.

“Defense ministers and defense attachés are not counterparts,” Powell said in a post on X, defending the protocol followed by the Philippines.

Flashpoint

The diplomatic friction comes following the war of words between Teodoro and Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan, who had dismissed the Philippine defense chief’s description of China as a regional “troublemaker” as “nonsense.”

“If we want to use force, we may easily win. But no, we will not choose force and we love peace,” Jing had told reporters on 15 October, prompting Teodoro to interpret the remarks as a veiled threat.

The exchange also came against the backdrop of China’s activities in the West Philippine Sea, including the reported interference by China Coast Guard and navy vessels with a Philippine resupply mission to Ayungin Shoal on 24 September.

During the Cebu meetings, Teodoro called for respect for international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the peaceful settlement of disputes.

The meetings adopted joint declarations marking the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia and the 20th anniversary of the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting.

Teodoro has handed the ADMM chairmanship over to Singapore, which will lead the meetings in 2027.