Philippines says China ‘biggest disruptor’ of peace in Southeast Asia

Manila: China is the “biggest disruptor” of peace in Southeast Asia, the Philippine defence chief said Tuesday, as tensions between Manila and Beijing over disputed reefs and waters in the South China Sea escalate.

“China… is the biggest disruptor of international peace in the ASEAN region,” Gilberto Teodoro told a conference of the US Indo-Pacific Command in Manila, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Teodoro’s remarks follow a series of confrontations between Philippine and Chinese vessels in the South China Sea.

China claims almost the entirety of the sea, despite an international ruling that its claims have no legal basis.

Beijing’s claims include reefs and waters inside the Philippines‘ Exclusive Economic Zone, which extends about 370 kilometres (200 nautical miles) from the country’s coastal waters.