China bars Philippines defence chief as South China Sea spat sails onwards

Chinese individuals and organisations are besides banned from doing concern with Gilberto Teodoro and his family.

China has barred a apical Philippines authoritative and his household from entering the country, citing comments helium made astir Beijing’s claims successful the South China Sea.

Beijing’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said successful a connection issued connected Thursday that Manila’s Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, arsenic good arsenic his woman and children, are present banned from entering the country, including Hong Kong and Macau.

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It added that “organisations and individuals successful China” volition not beryllium permitted to “engage successful immoderate transaction, practice oregon different activities with him and his spouse and child”.

The prohibition marks different escalation successful long-running tensions betwixt the 2 countries implicit the South China Sea. Half a twelve countries, including the Philippines, laic assertion to antithetic parts of the sea, but Beijing insists that it holds sovereignty implicit astir each of its waters.

Teodoro’s rhetoric “undermines China’s morganatic interests and sabotages China-Philippines relations”, the connection said, without specifying to which remarks it was referring.

There was nary contiguous absorption from Teodoro oregon from the Philippine government.

‘No plans’

After unconfirmed reports surfaced past week astir a China introduction ban, Teodoro said: “I person nary assets successful China, and I person nary plans to spell there,” according to section media ABS-CBN.

“Even if I wanted to visit, due to the fact that the nutrient is bully and the radical are kind, that is overshadowed by the benignant of authorities they have,” helium added.

Beijing’s claims implicit the South China Sea are contempt a 2016 planetary ruling that said its assertions are baseless.

China regularly deploys navy and seashore defender vessels successful the strategical waterway to forestall the Philippines from accessing important reefs and islands successful the area.

Coast guard, subject and civilian boats from the 2 countries person regularly featured successful clashes.

At a acme successful Singapore past month, Teodoro criticised Beijing’s activities successful the disputed waters, saying Manila “will not sacrifice our territorial integrity and sovereignty”.

Asked past week astir Teodoro’s remarks astatine the summit, Beijing’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said that helium “is known to vilify China”.

“All helium cares astir is selfish idiosyncratic gains, to the constituent that helium would execute governmental theatrics adjacent erstwhile people’s well-being is astatine stake,” Mao said.