Relax Lang Daw: Defense Chief Teodoro Says PH Won't Get Dragged Into the US-Iran War
As bombs rain down across the Middle East and Filipinos worry about the Philippines getting caught in the crossfire, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. has a message: calm down, it's not happening. In an interview on Tuesday, Teodoro firmly dismissed fears that the country could be pulled into the escalating conflict between the US and Iran.
"That is unfounded because we cannot compare the situation in the Middle East to that of the Philippines," Teodoro said, calling such concerns based on a "false premise." He stressed that Manila's bilateral and multilateral alliances are "solely for defensive and deterrent purposes" — not for offensive wars in faraway regions.
The assurance comes at a tense time. The US and Israel recently conducted a joint military operation in Iran that reportedly killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In retaliation, Tehran unleashed volleys of ballistic missiles and attack drones across the region, hitting US military bases and allied sites in Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.
Some Filipinos have voiced concern that the nine Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites in the Philippines could make the country a target. But Teodoro pushed back hard, even taking a swipe at previous administrations for their "paurong-sulong" defense policies that he says delayed necessary military modernization.
"Our alliances should have been long established. This is long overdue," Teodoro said, arguing that strengthening international partnerships actually makes the Philippines safer, not more vulnerable. He urged the public not to let Middle East anxieties derail the country's defense buildup.
Source: Manila Bulletin
