PASAY CITY — Acknowledging that the country cannot match Beijing’s military might on a pound-for-pound basis, Defense Secretary Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro Jr. stressed that the Philippines must strategically develop its defense capabilities to make itself an “uninviting target” for China.
Teodoro made the remarks on Tuesday during the Senate deliberations on the Department of National Defense’s (DND) proposed ₱324.632-billion budget for 2027.
Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson raised concerns during the hearing regarding the massive disparity in military spending between the two nations, noting that China’s reported defense expenditure of $335 billion is roughly 52 times greater than that of the Philippines.
“How do we do a David against a Goliath in this regard?” Lacson asked, adding that the country must improvise given its limited resources.
He also pointed out that while the Philippines has security partnerships—such as a recently approved treaty with France—the nation cannot rely solely on allies because “they have their own national interests to contend with.”
In response, Teodoro stated that the nation’s best defense strategy is deterrence rather than retaliation, aiming to complicate an adversary’s decision calculus.
“The best way, sir, is to make ourselves an uninviting target,” Teodoro said.
The Defense Chief noted that the country’s archipelagic geography—where land accounts for only 20 to 30 percent of total territory and the rest is maritime—requires a strong focus on maritime capabilities to keep the land domain resilient.
He also warned that China’s actual military expenditures may exceed official figures when accounting for the China Coast Guard and maritime militia.
“There is no substitute but to build a level of resilience which will make it very unattractive for them,” Teodoro emphasized, adding that the DND is also incorporating lessons learned from conflicts like Ukraine’s defense against Russia.
Drawing a contrast with direct military parity, Teodoro noted in a chance interview that absolute numerical superiority is unnecessary.
”You don’t need to match them 100%. We just need to be resilient on our own to enable us to do what we need to do in a more independent and more reliable manner,” he said.
Following the discussions, Senate Senior Majority Leader and Finance Committee Chairperson JV Ejercito announced that the DND budget and its attached agencies for fiscal year 2027—including funding for the Revised Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Modernization Program—were deemed submitted for plenary approval.