MANILA, Philippines - The Department of National Defense (DND) is not threatened by a Chinese Navy recruitment video stating that it is ready for war and will not give up its territory to foreigners.
DND spokesman Peter Galvez said there is no problem with the video’s message as long as the territory that the Chinese military has vowed to protect refers to mainland China.
“All training videos are like that. I mean, of course, the core competency of any military is war fighting capability and that also applies to us,” Galvez told reporters on Monday in Villamor Airbase in Pasay.
“Perhaps there is no problem as long as they (China) are referring to their territory. If it is for the defense of any state, there is no problem with training for defending your state. The area that we are talking about is the mainland,” he added.
Galvez, however, maintained that it is erroneous for China to assume that areas that are very far from its mainland are also part of its territory.
The four minute, 16-second video that surfaced last week was meant to be a recruitment tool for the People’s Liberation Army Navy.
The video showed footages of disputed reefs in the South China Sea and the uninhabited Senkaku Islands, which is also being claimed by Japan.
Images of exploding bombs and rockets being were also shown, drawing speculations that the video was meant to threaten China’s rivals in territorial disputes.
A text that accompanied the video read: “China’s oceanic and overseas interests are expanding rapidly... Our land is vast but we will not yield an inch of our territory to foreigners.”
According to the video, China’s struggle over its sea rights is not over.
“We will not yield even the tiniest speck of our resources,” a text that appeared on the video.
“We maintain combat readiness... We are prepared for war.”
Galvez stressed that the Philippines renounces war as an instrument of policy as provided by the Constitution.
“We are for peaceful resolution of the issues we face,” he said.