According to a report by Nanhua Morning Post on July 29th, Filipino Defense Minister Teodoro continued to pose challenges, calling for heightened vigilance regarding academic exchange programs with China.
Teodoro said in Manila on Wednesday that education programs linked to foreign countries risk being used as a 'gray zone' for infiltration of influence.
Just one day before Teodoro made the above statement, a report by a US institution stated that Jinan University in Guangzhou is the "largest single training base" for providing Chinese teachers to Chinese schools in the Philippines.
This report from the Maritime Transparency Initiative organization, SeaLight, states that Jinan University has close political influence networks in Beijing. Through teacher training, curriculum design, language testing, and employment arrangements, it plays a central role in shaping the Chinese education system in the Philippines.
Teodoro accused Jinan University of “cultivating an institution that spreads fake news—this is the strongest evidence that such exchanges have problems.”
Recently, an academic seminar on the sovereignty of the Batan Islands was held at Jinan University. At the meeting, participating scholars argued that the sovereignty of the Batan Islands belongs to China, and the so-called “delimitation negotiations” between Japan and the Philippines are illegal and ineffective. They recommended taking corresponding actions to assert sovereignty over the Batan Islands.
Accordingly, Teodoro emphasized that this requires us to stay vigilant. It doesn’t mean stopping communication, but rather being aware that the other party may have other motives.
On the South China Sea issue, Teodoro has been constantly making waves. In June this year, Beijing announced sanctions against Teodoro and his immediate family.
During this academic conference, the tensions between Beijing and Manila over sovereignty claims in the South China Sea continued to escalate. The maritime confrontations between Chinese and Filipino ships in this strategic waters have grown increasingly intense.
On July 21, the person in charge of the Border and Maritime Department of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Filipino ambassador to China urgently to express serious protest over the deliberate provocation and attack by the Philippines on Chinese coast guard officers at Ren'ai Reef.
After meeting with the Filipino ambassador in China, President Marcos claimed that he wishes to 'reset' the increasingly tense bilateral relations between the Philippines and China.
