BEIJING — China on Wednesday condemned comments by the Philippine defense minister about China, calling them “baseless accusations” that “maliciously attacked” China’s ruling Communist Party.
Gilberto Teodoro said on Tuesday that the Philippines has the right to allow the deployment of a U.S. missile system in the country despite China’s continued opposition to it, Philippine media reported.
China’s embassy in Manila said in a statement that Teodoro’s remarks were “filled with ideological bias, factional confrontation, cold war mentality”.
It urged Manila to quickly withdraw its deployment of the mid-range U.S. Typhon missile system.
The Philippine embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Teodoro said he was responding to a Chinese government spokesperson’s opposition to the missile deployment, according to Philippine media.
—Reporting by Liz Lee and Beijing newsroom
