Share!
The Chinese Embassy in the Philippines on Wednesday urged the Philippines to pull out the U.S. Typhon missile system promptly as it has publicly pledged, and stop going further down the wrong path.
The remarks came after Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro issued a statement on Tuesday, claiming that “the deployment of the U.S. mid-range missile system to the Philippines in the context of joint exercises is completely legitimate, legal and beyond reproach.”
He also claimed that the Communist Party of China (CPC) criticizes “the modest capability development of the Philippines” while “building up its nuclear arsenal and ballistic missile capability.”
The embassy said Teodoro has baselessly smeared China and maliciously attacked the CPC.
“We firmly oppose and strongly condemn such statement which is nothing but unjust accusation filled with ideological bias and based on bloc confrontation and the Cold War mentality,” it noted.
However, this is not the first time that Teodoro had made such unprofessional and ludicrous remarks, the embassy continued.
He has obstructed military-to-military contacts and exchanges between China and the Philippines, and openly stated that “discussions and consultations are the most useless phrase” in maritime dispute settlements, the embassy added.
Such words run counter to the instruction of Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos to de-escalate maritime tensions through dialogue, and contradict both countries’ relentless diplomatic efforts to manage differences through communication and consultation, it said.
China’s position on the U.S. deploying the mid-range missile system in the Philippines is consistent and clear, the embassy said, stressing that the region is in need of peace and prosperity, not missile systems or confrontation.
“Once again we remind the Philippines to heed the call of regional countries and their peoples, and have the Typhon missile system promptly pulled out as it has publicly pledged,” said the embassy.
