The recent meeting of the defense ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) provided another international stage for defense secretary Gibo Teodoro to gloat on his newfound role as de facto architect of Philippine foreign policy.
It is a fact that the Philippines, led now by the unlamented Bongbong Marcos, holds this year’s chairmanship of Asean because of the position’s revolving nature. Gibo Teodoro was in charge of the Mactan, Cebu meeting of Asean defense ministers, including those of the regional organization’s dialogue partner, by virtue of this chairmanship.
Weeks before the ministerial meeting, Gibo has been everywhere ramping up his narratives and lies about China, which were even bolstered by staged incidents in the volatile South China Sea publicized by Jay Tarriela and Ray Powell, the blinded trumpeters of the American delu.
Other incidents and issues linked to Gibo are his two alleged letters soliciting support from an American CIA chieftain in Manila, the dubious note allegedly passed to him while speaking at a forum in Lotte Hotel, Seoul, the controversy over the Chinese volunteer teachers in local schools, the harassment of steel plant workers in Phividec, etc., etc.
All these incidents point to the fact that Gibo—even before Mactan—had been preparing for a stellar dominance of Pete Hegseth, the US secretary of war, in the Cebu event. And this required downplaying China’s role as a dialogue partner, with the concomitant importance given to Japanese defense minister Shinjiro Koizumi, a staunch US ally.
In Beijing, reporters asked the Ministry of National Defense on why China’s defense minister didn't attend the 13th Asean Defense Ministers' Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) held in the Philippines. Why did the Chinese side make the decision to send its defense attaché to the meeting?
This was the reply of spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang: “The ADMM-Plus is the highest-level and largest defense and security dialogue and cooperation mechanism in the Asia-Pacific. Established in 2010, it has served as an important platform for countries to build trust, strengthen cooperation, and uphold regional peace and stability. As the rotating chair of this year's ADMM-Plus, the Philippine side has allowed a certain self-serving politician to act recklessly and abuse its chairmanship to put up obstacles to China’s participation. Such moves seriously violate Asean’s principle of consensus through consultation and run counter to the open and inclusive spirit of the ADMM-Plus. They do not conform to basic diplomatic protocols, and undermine China's legitimate rights as a member of the mechanism. Many Asean countries have raised questions and opposition over this.”
The truth in Zhang’s statement begs the question that many Filipinos are asking, and more more should be asking: has the defense secretary taken from his boss the President, the power and responsibility over foreign relations?
Why is President Marcos allowing Gibo to wreak havoc on Asean unity and peace initiatives by showing bias against an important dialogue partner—one which wields considerable influence with Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Lao PDR, Brunei Darussalam, Myanmar, and Timor-Leste. If we include India and Pakistan, that’s mostly the whole region.
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