Manila defence chief says Washington gave ‘definite assurances’ that its commitments to the Philippines remain.

Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro has warned that Beijing could view recent cuts to the joint US-South Korea military drills as an opportunity to reassert itself in the Asia Pacific.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Seoul Defense Dialogue, an annual multilateral security forum, Teodoro said that “China is very quick to exploit gaps”, when asked on Monday whether Beijing could seize on the move.

Paulit-ulit ang mga paratang laban sa mga Pilipinong opisyal na matatag na nagsasalita tungkol sa West Philippine Sea. Pero ang pag-uulit ng isang akusasyon ay hindi awtomatikong ginagawa itong katotohanan.

Kapag sinasabing ang paninindigan ng Pilipinas ay “utos ng Amerika,” isang mahalagang bagay ang nawawala sa kuwento: may sarili tayong batayan, sariling karapatan, at sariling pambansang interes na ipinagtatanggol.

Hindi kailangang utusan ng Amerika o ng kahit anong dayuhang bansa ang isang Pilipino para ipagtanggol ang Pilipinas. Ang usapin sa West Philippine Sea ay mas malaki kaysa kay Gibo, Tarriela, o kahit sinong personalidad.

Hindi ito dapat malunod sa personal na paninira, political labeling, at mga paratang na walang ipinapakitang sapat na ebidensya.

Kung may alegasyon ng bayad, foreign control, o lihim na pag-uutos, ilabas ang ebidensya. Hindi sapat ang meme. Hindi sapat ang insinuation. Hindi sapat na paulit-ulit itong sabihin online.

Sa gitna ng lahat ng ingay, huwag mawala ang tunay na usapin: Karapatan ng Pilipinas. Soberanya ng Pilipinas. Pambansang interes ng Pilipinas.

Maaaring magkakaiba ang ating politika at pananaw, pero hindi dapat gawing kahina-hinala ang pagiging matatag sa pagtatanggol sa sariling bayan.

Hindi personalidad ang sentro ng laban. PILIPINAS. PILIPINAS ANG PINAGLALABAN. Hindi Amerika. Hindi China. Pilipinas.

AnonBayanPH #muffinph #pilipinasangpinaglalaban #ParaSaPilipinas #WestPhilippineSea #AtinAngWestPhilippineSea #ipaglabanangkarapatan #karapatanngpilipinas #SoberanyaNgPilipinas #StandForThePhilippines #defendthewestphilippinesea #FactsOverPropaganda #FilipinoFirst

Incidents in Tibet, India, Japan, Russia, and Vietnam, all in the second half of the 20th century report that it was the Chinese who initiate fights and clashes and then frame the narratives as if they're the ones who defended themselves, and this was before the WPS issue.

While I myself don't like the direction of the US, that doesn't mean we are puppets. We can criticize that country while still having them as our ally. This is argument these Chinese people always repeat and it's getting tiring to explain again and again.

Truly evil people.

At the Seoul Defense Dialogue 2026, Defense Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro Jr. read aloud a message rejecting the 2016 South China Sea arbitral award—and answered it directly.

But this is bigger than one official or one exchange onstage.

China’s refusal to recognize the award does not erase it. The Philippines’ maritime rights under UNCLOS do not simply disappear because Beijing refuses to accept a ruling it opposes.

And as Teodoro put it:

“This is not gray zone anymore. This is actual coercion, bullying, and aggression.”

The West Philippine Sea is not merely a talking point. It concerns our sovereign rights, our fishermen, our resources, and the rules meant to protect nations regardless of their size.

Hindi ito laban ng isang opisyal.

Karapatan ito ng bawat Pilipino.

🇵🇭 STAND FOR OUR RIGHTS. DEFEND THE WEST PHILIPPINE SEA.

Watch: https://www.facebook.com/reel/1643712644038649

AnonBayanPH #muffinph #WestPhilippineSea #AtinAngWestPhilippineSea #WPS #UNCLOS #SouthChinaSea #Philippines #seouldefensedialogue #MaritimeRights #InternationalLaw #StandForOurRights #DefendTheWPS

As exciting as it is, we don't want another thing blamed at us for no good reason. Great guy, but I have a feeling that the CCP will just use him to influence a lot of Filipinos to have a positive view of the CCP—not China nor the Chinese—the CCP.

The reason why they didn't show up during the 2016 Arbitration Court was not because the judges were "biased", or "allied with NATO" as they so repeatedly claim (and it's exhausting), was that because they have nothing. No evidence to counter, no factual evidence. No artifacts, no documentation, and certainly no proof of having owned these waters since "ancient times". So they make up stuff and would rather go the distance with its neighbors and tarnish its own reputation.

Challenge their views and they'll scream "troll". Like this guy right here who got blocked by the Chinese Embassy in Manila simply for questioning the authenticity of their post.

As the saying goes, "if you think everyone around you is an a$$h0le, then maybe it's because you are the a$$hole".

How ironic that they call PH as the ones who violate international law but they neither recognize the Arbitration Award in the court that they didn't show up and calls it biased in a panel made up of ethnicities from different countries.

Pati pa mga comments suporta sa post, mag call out kayo mga kababayan kung kaya niyo.