BEIJING (AP) 鈥� The Philippines defense secretary and his family have been banned from entering China over comments he has made about Beijing’s claims in the South China Sea, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Thursday.
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro and his wife and kids are banned from entering China, including Hong Kong, while individuals and groups in China are also banned from having any sort of transaction with Teodoro, the ministry said in a statement
Teodoro is known for using strong language to counter China鈥檚 claims over the strategic waters, calling them a that no Southeast Asian country would accept.
Teodoro also said last year that Chinese President Xi Jinping runs a 鈥渟mall dictatorship and autocracy鈥� and that his 鈥渃lique鈥� in the Chinese Communist Party is to blame for what he called Beijing鈥檚 aggressive and illegal policies, not Xi鈥檚 predecessors or the Chinese people.
The statement from China’s foreign ministry said that Teodoro has 鈥渋ssued many fallacies about China, harming China’s legitimate interests and damages the China-Philippines relationship.鈥�
There was no immediate reaction from Teodoro or from the Philippine government.
While multiple countries have disputing claims with China over the South China Sea, the greatest tensions over the issue have been with the Philippines, where officials have been outspoken on the issue.
The two sides have taken to sharing videos and photos of their confrontations at sea, which have at times
An international arbitration panel invalidated China鈥檚 claims over the waters in based on the 1982 U.N. Convention of the Law of the Sea, but Beijing refused to participate in the Philippines-initiated arbitration or recognize the decision.
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