Lithuania’s defense chief praises Philippine campaign exposing China’s pressure

Lithuanian Minister for National Defense Dovile Sakaliene during a press conference with her Philippine counterpart at a hotel in Makati

A Philippine campaign aimed at “exposing China’s aggression in the disputed South China Sea has shattered the illusion of China being peaceful and friendly,” Lithuania’s defense chief said yesterday, urging democratic countries to stand united against an emerging axis of authoritarian countries.

Beginning in 2023, the campaign, which Manila calls a “transparency initiative,” includes publicizing images of China’s aggressive actions in the disputed waters.

“I believe that, in this case, revealing to the world how China is harassing the Philippine’s navy and fishermen of the Philippines in their own waters is very important because it shatters the illusion of China being a peaceful and friendly neighbor,” Defense Minister Dovile Šakaliene said.

“It’s nothing peaceful when you see water cannons being used against peaceful fishermen and there’s nothing peaceful about ramming the ships of Philippines in the territorial waters of the Philippines,” she added.

Šakaliene expressed support to former Filipino senator Francis Tolentino while in the capital for talks aimed at deepening defense ties between the two countries.

Tolentino was sanctioned by China on Tuesday for his strong criticisms of Beijing’s acts of aggression and for his work on two new laws, which demarcated Philippine territorial zones, including in parts of the South China Sea that Beijing claims.

Šakaliene said she and her family had also been sanctioned by China and banned from entering the country for her strong criticisms of China’s aggression and human rights record.

“Welcome to the club,” Šakaliene said in an interview with a small group of journalists, including from The Associated Press, in response to China’s sanction against Tolentino. “Talking about China’s crimes is what gets you into the blacklist.”

“Pressure, coercion and threats is their usual method of operation,” she said.

Chinese officials did not immediately comment on Šakaliene’s remarks.

During President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration, which began in mid-2022, the Philippines invited Filipino and foreign journalists to join its coast guard and navy patrols in the disputed South China Sea.

They have witnessed an increasingly alarming spike of confrontations in the waters in recent years, with China using water cannons and dangerous maneuvers to defend its claim to the global trade route. JIM GOMEZ, MANILA, MDT/AP