China announced on Thursday sanctions against the Philippines' defence minister over "irresponsible remarks", escalating tensions between Beijing and Manila as they grapple with maritime disputes. Gilberto Teodoro and his spouse and child will be banned from entering China's mainland, Hong Kong and Macau, an unnamed foreign ministry spokesperson said in an online statement. It added that "organizations and individuals in China" will not be allowed to "engage in any transaction, cooperation or other activities with him and his spouse and child". Teodoro's rhetoric "undermines China's legitimate interests and sabotages China-Philippines relations", the statement said, without specifying which remarks it was referring to. The two countries have in recent years often dealt with flare-ups in ongoing confrontations in the disputed South China Sea. Beijing claims the strategic waterway nearly in its entirety, despite an international ruling that said its assertions are baseless. China regularly deploys navy and coast guard vessels to bar the Philippines from important reefs and islands in the area. At a summit in Singapore last month, Teodoro criticised Beijing's activities in the disputed waters, saying Manila "will not sacrifice our territorial integrity and sovereignty". Asked last week about Teodoro's remarks at the summit, Beijing's foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said that he "is known to vilify China". "All he cares is selfish personal gains to the point that he would perform political theatrics even when people's well-being is at stake," Mao said.
