Philippine defense chief says China is ‘the biggest disruptor’ of peace, seeks stronger censure

Associated Press

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippine defense chief says that China is “the biggest disruptor” of peace in Southeast Asia and said a stronger international censure, including a U.N. Security Council condemnation, would serve as a more effective antidote to Beijing’s increasing aggression. Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. spoke Tuesday in an international military conference organized in Manila by the United States Indo-Pacific Command amid an alarming spike in hostilities between China and the Philippines in the disputed South China Sea and in its airspace. A day earlier, Chinese ships blocked Philippine vessels from delivering food to a Coast Guard ship at the Sabina Shoal using what Manila called “excessive force.”