China’s political and diplomatic actions against Defense Sec. Gilbert Teodoro are a direct result of the Marcos regime’s aggressive pursuit of a militarist foreign policy aligned with the United States amid the escalating rivalry between the two imperialist superpowers.
Teodoro and his cohorts in the pro-US military and security establishment act as attack dogs for US geopolitical strategy. They advocate expanding US military presence in the country, prepositioning US war matériel and conducting endless war exercises. The hype he has generated around a so-called Chinese “floating structure” in Bajo de Masinloc comes after supporting the US Coast Guard sea patrols in the area, more than 6,000 kilometers from the nearest US coastline.
He is pushing the Philippines toward heightened conflicts with China and undermining diplomatic and dialogue-centered efforts, to justify his malign scheme to have the US military “help defend” the Philippines.
The broad masses of the Filipino people, standing in solidarity with the peoples of Asia, aspire for peaceful resolution of international disputes, including those with China. By championing US militarism, Teodoro is promoting war instead of peace. To confuse the Filipino people, Marcos support groups such as Akbayan are misrepresenting mongering as patriotism.
Teodoro must be rebuked and rejected for supporting US militarism and war preparations. With him as defense secretary, the Marcos regime is bound to drag the Philippines into the path of US wars of aggression.
