MANILA PHILIPPINES – Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilbert Teodoro on Friday said China’s arrest policy is a type of “provocation”.
This came after Chinese Government’s directive to the Chinese Coast Guard to arrest “trespassers” in their claimed territories in the South China Sea.
Teodoro said Beijing’s move is a “violation of international peace,” something that is against the law and should cause international concern.
“They threatened to arrest. That is a provocation and a violation, to me, of the UN (United Nations) Charter,” Teodoro said in an ambush interview with him during his attendance at the 126th anniversary
of the Philippine Navy.
According to the DND Chief, such order is illegal and against the United Nations Charter.
Teodoro said what the Philippines is doing in our exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and its measures to defend its territory are “in no way could be called a provocation by any sane individual.”
“Such behavior is not only a violation of UNCLOS but also a violation of the precepts of the United Nations Charter which lays upon each responsible member state the duty to refrain from the threat or the use of force or aggression to enforce particularly in this case illegal territorial claims in the maritime domain,” he stated.