Teodoro, AFP, US slam China missile test

MANILA, Philippines — China was flexing its military muscle to provoke or intimidate smaller nations when it conducted a ballistic missile test in the waters of South Pacific, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. said yesterday, as he urged concerned countries to denounce Beijing’s action.

“There’s no reason for them to conduct exercise there because they’re not a South Pacific country. Now, if they say they’re just conducting test in the area, it means they’re belittling the rights and security of other countries there,” Teodoro told reporters in a chance interview.

“This is a pattern that I think is a provocation, to show muscle. And it is a demonstration of force that’s not needed, especially in the South Pacific, on Pacific islands,” he said.

Teodoro said the region, especially Australia, New Zealand and like-minded partners, should be worried because China was reportedly planning to build a naval base in the area. “Why would they have a nuclear-powered submarine launch in the area?”

“They’re demonstrating forward positioning, capability and it is an implied threat. It’s a provocation, nothing else,” Teodoro noted.

In a separate statement, DND spokesman Arsenio Andolong called China’s ballistic missile test “a reckless display of military power.”

Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesman for the West Philippine Sea retired rear admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said that while China may dismiss its missile test as “part of an annual training routine, such a demonstration of advanced strategic nuclear capability compounds existing regional anxieties.”

The United States also said yesterday that it stands with the Philippines on the issue of the missile test.

“We share the Philippines’ concerns about the missile launch and remain committed to our oldest security ally in the region,” US Ambassador Lee Lipton said in a statement.

He added: “At a time when the United States is working harder than ever to prevent nuclear proliferation, China is doing the opposite. China’s rapid and opaque nuclear weapons buildup is of great concern to the region and the world.”

He renewed the US call for China “to engage in meaningful arms control discussions.” — Pia Lee-Brago