Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. has slammed China’s latest acts of aggression near Escoda Shoal and denounced Beijing’s foreign ministry for spreading lies to justify the China Coast Guard’s water cannon attack on Filipino fishermen. “The Department of National Defense strongly denounces the dangerous and inhumane actions taken by Chinese maritime forces against Filipino fishers in the vicinity of Escoda Shoal,” Teodoro said yesterday, while accusing the Chinese foreign ministry of lying when it claimed the Filipino fishermen were armed with knives and were aggressive.

Punongbayan, M. (2025, December 17). Gibo slams China's aggression vs Phl fishermen. The Philippine Star, p. 2.