Chinese Embassy Rebuts Teodoro on Sanjia Steel Workers; DND Calls Response 'Evasive and Deceptive'

The Chinese Embassy in Manila fired back at Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. on August 16, 2026, with spokesman Ji Linpeng accusing him of conducting 'anti-China activities' meant to 'disrupt' bilateral ties and questioning 'whether Teodoro was a defence secretary or police chief' for 'interfering' in law enforcement. The embassy said it merely arranged consular visits and protested what it called unfair treatment of the roughly 69-70 Chinese nationals detained in the May 15 raid on Sanjia Steel Corp. in Misamis Oriental (all since released). The Philippine Department of National Defense dismissed the embassy's statement as demonstrating 'evasiveness and a badge of deception' amounting to an 'implied admission of culpability,' reiterating Teodoro's earlier characterization of Beijing's response as a 'squid tactic' of disinformation through avoidance.