THREE DAYS before facing the Commission on Appointments, Defense Secretary Gilbert “Gibo” C. Teodoro, Jr. was urged by a security think tank to push for the Philippine military’s modernization, given the challenges in the South China Sea.
“His (Teodoro’s) thrust is how to strengthen the force structure of the AFP aligned to the new national security policy of the Marcos administration,” Chester B. Cabalza, founding president of Manila-based International Development and Security Cooperation (IDSC), said in a Messenger chat on Sunday.
With many anticipating Mr. Teodoro to hurdle the CA, Mr. Cabalza underscored that the Department of National Defense (DND) chief must also ensure that the 2016 arbitral ruling — voiding China’s claim to over 80% of the South China Sea — is used as one of the country’s “instruments of power.”
“Philippine pronounced lawfare has been the country’s knight in shining armor in achieving universal support from like-minded nations against China’s grey zone strategy in the West Philippine Sea,” Mr. Cabalza said.
At the recent House Appropriations Committee deliberations on the DND budget, Mr. Teodoro called on the need to increase defense spending to catch up with its regional peers. “There is a race among countries in terms of strengthening their capacities in defending their own territories,” he said. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz
