Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

Defense Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro, Jr. during the 4th State of the Nation Address of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr at the House of Representatives in Quezon City on July 28, 2025.    Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/178122314879420250728-4th-sona-gilbert-teodoro-JC0036.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Defense Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro, Jr. during the 4th State of the Nation Address of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr at the House of Representatives in Quezon City on July 28, 2025<em>. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File</em></span></span></span></div><p>BEIJING, China — The Philippines defense minister was defiant on Friday after Beijing sanctioned him for what it termed &quot;irresponsible remarks&quot; as the two nations grapple over the disputed South China Sea.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/4/21/gibo-teodoro-criticizes-china-after-its-remark-vs-balikatan-exercises-1128">Defense chief criticizes &#x27;sinister&#x27; China intentions after its remark vs Balikatan exercises</a></div><p>Gilberto Teodoro as well as his spouse and child will be banned from entering China&#x27;s mainland, Hong Kong and Macau, an unnamed foreign ministry spokesperson said in an online statement on Thursday.</p><p>It added that &quot;organizations and individuals in China&quot; will not be allowed to &quot;engage in any transaction, cooperation or other activities with him and his spouse and child&quot;.</p><p>The two countries have in recent years regularly dealt with flare-ups in tensions over the disputed South China Sea.</p><p>Beijing claims the strategic waterway nearly in its entirety, despite an international ruling that said its assertions are baseless.</p><p>In a statement early Friday, Teodoro said he had been sanctioned for &quot;speaking truth&quot;.</p><p>&quot;Their own countrymen and the others under their control suffer far worse,&quot; he said. &quot;I will just keep doing my duty and uphold our nation in the face of the wickedness they are committing here and even in our seas.&quot;</p><p>Manila reacted to the sanctions late Thursday by saying that &quot;the Philippines views it as an unfriendly act that further complicates the bilateral relations&quot;.</p><p>China regularly deploys navy and coast guard vessels to bar the Philippines from important reefs and islands in the area.</p><p>The Chinese statement said Teodoro&#x27;s rhetoric &quot;undermines China&#x27;s legitimate interests and sabotages China-Philippines relations&quot;, without specifying to which remarks it referred.</p><p>At a summit in Singapore last month, Teodoro criticized Beijing&#x27;s activities in the disputed waters, saying Manila &quot;will not sacrifice our territorial integrity and sovereignty&quot;.</p><p>Asked last week about Teodoro&#x27;s remarks at the summit, Beijing&#x27;s foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said that he &quot;is known to vilify China&quot;.</p><p>&quot;All he cares is selfish personal gains to the point that he would perform political theatrics even when people&#x27;s well-being is at stake,&quot; Mao said.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pWhZ8va8ttE?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>Gilberto Teodoro as well as his spouse and child will be banned from entering China's mainland, Hong Kong and Macau, an unnamed foreign ministry spokesperson said in an online statement on Thursday.</p>

Gilberto Teodoro as well as his spouse and child will be banned from entering China's mainland, Hong Kong and Macau, an unnamed foreign ministry spokesperson said in an online statement on Thursday.

Defense chief Teodoro says to 'keep doing my duty' after China sanctions

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Defense chief Teodoro says to 'keep doing my duty' after China sanctions

Agence France-Presse

Published June 12, 2026 08:13 AM PHT

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