Teodoro, Brawner expose ‘deceptive’ questioning by alleged Chinese media

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MANILA, Philippines — Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief General Romeo Brawner Jr. criticized what they described as a malicious and misleading report originating from alleged Chinese media workers.

In a video shared by the AFP on Facebook on Sunday, June 1, Teodoro recounted that Chinese attendees who claimed to be "journalists" questioned him during the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, asking whether the Philippines was acting as a “proxy” for the United States.

Teodoro said he denied the allegation, asserting that the Philippines is not a proxy of the United States.

“Nakipagsagutan ako nang matagal dahil tinanong nila sa akin kung tayo daw ay proxy lang daw ng America. Sabi ko ‘hindi, hindi tayo proxy.’ Natural Pilipino tayo, pero sila magnanakaw ng teritoryo. Eh ‘di nagsagutan na kami nang nagsagutan. Hindi pa nilalabas 'yun pero baliktarin na naman nila,” Teodoro said. 

(I argued with them because they asked if we are just a proxy to America, I said 'no, we’re not a proxy.' We’re Filipinos, they’re the ones stealing our territory. They have yet to release a story about it and they will again twist the narrative.)

Teodoro and Brawner were attending a defense conference in Singapore. The defense chief said that Beijing did not send any representatives or delegates. 

“Imbis na magpadala sila ng defense minister, nagpapadala sila ng mga bata na nagpapanggap na journalist na ahente ng intelligence nila na nagtatanong ng balagbag tapos binabaliktad ang video,” Teodoro said.

(Instead of sending a defense minister, they sent kids pretending to be journalists but who are actually intelligence agents asking malicious questions and manipulating the video.)

Meanwhile, Brawner said he did not respond to the questions from the supposed journalists as he was heading to a bilateral meeting.

In a separate post, the AFP said the supposed Chinese journalists violated protocols. 

“Chinese nationals posing as journalists violated protocol by trailing AFP Chief of Staff General Romeo S. Brawner Jr. and pressing for comments outside formal sessions. They captured selective footage and twisted it into a misleading narrative titled 'Philippine military chief dodges questions,'” the AFP said. 

China asserts control over nearly the entire South China Sea, despite overlapping claims from several Southeast Asian nations, including the Philippines. 

It also dismisses the 2016 international ruling by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which concluded that its nine-dash line claim to the West Philippine Sea lacks any legal foundation.