Beijing accuses Philippines of "individual politicians" blocking China's attendance at ADMM-Plus

Beijing accuses Philippines of "individual politicians" blocking China's attendance at ADMM-Plus

Philippine Defense Secretary Teodoro delivered a speech at the opening ceremony of the "ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting Plus" held in Cebu, Philippines on the 29th. (AP)

China's Ministry of National Defense stated on the 29th that the Philippines allowed "individual politicians" to use public weapons for private purposes and set up numerous obstacles to prevent China from participating in the "Association of Southeast Asian Nations Defense Ministers' Meeting Plus" (ADMM-Plus) being held in Cebu, Philippines.

China did not identify the Philippine politician who blocked its delegation from attending the meeting, but speculated that it might be Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., who has frequently criticized Beijing over the South China Sea dispute.

Spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of National Defense Zhang Xiaogang was asked at a regular press conference on the 29th why China sent Yang Lei, the defense attaché of the Embassy in the Philippines, instead of Defense Minister Dong Jun to attend ADMM-Plus. In this regard, Zhang Xiaogang said, "The Philippines Allowing individual politicians to act arbitrarily and use public weapons for private purposes, erecting numerous obstacles to hinder China's participation in the meeting, severely undermines the principle of consensus in ASEAN, seriously violates the open and inclusive spirit of the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting Plus, is inconsistent with basic diplomatic etiquette, and undermines China's legitimate rights as a member of the mechanism."

The Philippines currently holds the rotating chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and is currently hosting the 20th ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting (ADMM) in Cebu and the 13th ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus). The dialogue partners of the Plus meeting include the United States, China, Australia, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and Russia.

Sino-Philippine relations continue to be tense due to disputes and conflicts over sovereignty in the South China Sea. Philippine Defense Secretary Teodoro has taken a tough stance on Beijing on this issue and publicly criticized him many times. As a result, he and his family were sanctioned by Beijing in June this year.

Zhang Xiaogang also said that even though it was blocked by Philippine politicians, China still decided to send personnel to attend the meeting to show its support for the central status of ASEAN and its responsible attitude towards regional defense and security cooperation. He criticized the Philippines for going its own way, kidnapping ASEAN and causing trouble, which will weaken the reputation of ADMM-Plus and undermine the unity and mutual trust of ASEAN countries, which will ultimately harm the interests of the Philippines and the people of the countries in the region.