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Defense Secretary Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro Jr. reiterated on Saturday that the Philippines should focus on its own goals, rather than China’s opinions on the country’s defense cooperation engagements.
“Don’t listen to China,” Teodoro told journalists at the Lumbia Air Base in Cagayan de Oro City, which is one of nine sites in the country that hosts US facilities.
“We have our own goals regardless of what China thinks,” he said, repeating earlier remarks that questioned China’s credibility in the international community.
Lumbia Air Base has been designated as one of the sites covered by the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement between the Philippines and the United States. It is also the only Mindanaoan site in the agreement.
China has often been hostile toward the increased US military presence in the Philippines, viewing it as a potential threat to regional stability and a challenge to China’s growing influence in the South China Sea.
Teodoro stressed Lumbia’s strategic importance as a major operating base to support the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ missions in Mindanao.
It would also house the newly approved Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief warehouse, which, once completed, is expected to support the rapid deployment of essential supplies.
