Philippine defense chief says China is 'the biggest disruptor' of peace, seeks stronger censure

The Philippine defense chief says that China is “the biggest disruptor” of peace in Southeast Asia and said a stronger international censure, including a U.N. Security Council condemnation, would serve as a more effective antidote to Beijing’s increasing aggression. Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. spoke Tuesday in an international military conference organized in Manila by the United States Indo-Pacific Command amid an alarming spike in hostilities between China and the Philippines in the disputed South China Sea and in its airspace. A day earlier, Chinese ships blocked Philippine vessels from delivering food to a Coast Guard ship at the Sabina Shoal using what Manila called “excessive force.”