FILE PHOTO: Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. at the 22nd General Assembly of the Veterans Confederation of ASEAN Countries 2023 (VECONAC 2023) at Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila in Pasay City in this file photo taken on November 28, 2023. INQUIRER.net / Ryan Leagogo
MANILA, Philippines — Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. on Wednesday slammed Chinese foreign affairs spokesperson for what he deemed to be a “low and gutter level talk” following her remarks against President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning urged Marcos to “read more books” to understand the Taiwan issue after the Philippines’ chief executive congratulated Taiwan’s President-elect Lai Ching-te.
READ: Marcos greeting to new Taiwan leader irks China
“It is unfortunate that the PRC (People’s Republic of China) Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson stooped to such low and gutter level talk – resorting to insulting our President and the Filipino nation, and further debasing herself, the Ministry, and Party she represents in the process,” Teodoro said in a statement.
Teodoro further said that the spokesperson’s remarks are not surprising, calling it “on brand.”
“But then again, we should not at all be surprised — being a nation and people enjoying the privileges, rights, and freedoms of a democratic society — that an agent of a Party and system of government incompatible with our way of life and who routinely spouts State-sanctioned propaganda and disinformation would go that far and that low,” Teodoro said.
“It is unfortunate, but I am, myself, unsurprised. The Spokesperson’s statements were ‘on brand.’ We, and the world, should not expect more,” he continued.
On Monday night, Marcos said on X (formerly Twitter): “On behalf of the Filipino people, I congratulate President-elect Lai Ching-te on his election as Taiwan’s next President.”
READ: Bongbong Marcos eyeing close collaboration with Taiwan president-elect
Following this, the Department of Foreign Affairs reaffirmed Philippines’ position on the One China Policy, noting that Marcos is only congratulating Taiwan for “holding a successful democratic process.”
The Philippines recognizes the PRC as the “sole legal government of China” with Taiwan as “an integral part of Chinese territory.”
PRC, which regards Taiwan as a renegade province subject to reunification, has never renounced the use of force to bring it under its control.
READ: China’s Xi Jinping says ‘reunification’ with Taiwan is inevitable
The defeated Republic of China government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war with the communists who founded the PRC.