China sanctions defense chief Gibo Teodoro - Rappler
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DIALOGUE. Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. speaks at the final plenary session of the Shangri-La Dialogue on May 31, 2026.
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MANILA, Philippines – China’s Foreign Affairs Ministry announced on Thursday evening, June 11, that it has barred Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. from entering China as well as from engaging in “any transaction, cooperation or other activities” with organizations or individuals in China.
The sanction applies to Teodoro’s wife, the Philippines’ special envoy to United Nations Children’s Fund Monica Louise Prieto-Teodoro, and their adult son.
In a statement, the ministry claimed Teodoro “repeatedly made irresponsible remarks on China, which undermines China’s legitimate interests and sabotages China-Philippines relations.”
It added: “To uphold China’s sovereignty, security and development interests, China has decided to prohibit Gilberto Teodoro Jr. and his spouse and child from entering the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Macao, and not allow organizations and individuals in China to engage in any transaction, cooperation or other activities with him and his spouse and child.”
Beijing’s announcement of sanctions against Teodoro was made just hours before the Philippines celebrates its Independence Day, or the day it declared independence from Spain.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said that while it was China’s prerogative to impose sanctions, “Philippines views it as an unfriendly act that further complicates the bilateral relations.”
“Such measures do not contribute to building mutual trust, managing differences responsibly, or creating the conditions necessary for constructive engagement between our two countries,” said the DFA.
The sanction makes Teodoro, who has been defense secretary since 2023, one of two Cabinet officials in President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s Cabinet sanctioned by Beijing. His newly appointed labor chief, former senator Francis Tolentino, is also barred from entering mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau.
Teodoro on Friday, June 12, said the sanctions were both China’s “right” and “truly what they do to those who speak the truth against their deception.”
“Their own countrymen and the others under their control suffer far worse. I will just keep doing my duty and uphold our nation in the face of the wickedness they are committing here and even in our seas,” he said.
Teodoro is among the most vocal in the Philippine government over China’s actions in the West Philippine Sea, or a part of the South China Sea that includes the Philippines exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and features that it claims as its territory. China claims almost all of the South China Sea and refuses to recognize a 2016 arbitral award that affirmed Manila’s EEZ.
For the Philippines, China’s sweeping claim manifests in instances of harassment at sea against both grey and white-hulled ships, and even wooden fishing vessels of Filipino fisherfolk. For the latter, among the most impoverished sectors in the Philippines, it has meant being unable to access resource-rich waters.
The Philippine defense official’s criticism of China goes beyond its actions in the South China Sea. Teodoro has also called China out for being untrustworthy and for supposedly spreading lies, both against Manila and its allies.
Most recently, at the Shangri-La Dialogue in late May 2026, Teodoro warned against negotiations with Beijing. “For the PRC, therefore, in the Philippine experience, negotiations are therefore not a path to conflict resolution but a means of gaining advantage,” he told a crowd of diplomats, defense officials, and military top brass from around the world. – Rappler.com
