Philippines' blackmail will not work, Chinese major general warns at Shangri-La Dialogue

Philippines' attempts to exploit its smaller size to blackmail larger nations will not succeed, a major general of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) said in Singapore on Sunday, in response to Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro's remarks smearing China on the South China Sea issue.

"Teodoro's remarks are an unfounded attack against China that disregards facts, misleads the public, incites confrontation, sows discord, distorts right and wrong, and runs counter to the prevailing trend of peace and stability in the region," said Major General Meng Xiangqing, a member of China's National Defense University delegation to the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.

"We firmly oppose and reject such remarks," Meng said.

"The Philippines has deliberately grounded the retired tank BRP Sierra Madre (LT-57) at China's Ren'ai Reef since 1999. In the name of transporting 'living supplies', the Philippines has long smuggled construction materials and equipment to reinforce the ship in an attempt to achieve permanent occupation of the area," Meng charged.

"In recent years, Philippine vessels have repeatedly intruded into the waters near the Ren'ai Reef. The Philippines has been persistently provoking incidents around the Huangyan Island. It has also tampered with maps to confuse the international community," Meng said.

"In addition, the Philippines is trying to repeat the farce of the BRP Sierra Madre grounding and connect spots including the Ren'ai Reef, the Huangyan Island, and the Tiexian Reef to form a mode of coordinated provocation," he said.

"The root causes of the tense South China Sea situation are the Philippines' foreign-backed provocations and infringements, coupled with external interference. The Philippines bears unshirkable responsibility for this. Now the Philippines is accusing of and attacking China on this issue. This is like nothing but a thief crying 'stop thief'. China has not sought, does not seek and will never seek hegemony, nor will it ever bully smaller nations. However, we will also never tolerate or permit certain countries to engage in unscrupulous behavior to exploit their smaller size to blackmail larger nations," said the major general.

Philippines' blackmail will not work, Chinese major general warns at Shangri-La Dialogue

Thousands of demonstrators rallied in Italy and Greece on Saturday to protest against U.S. military intervention in Venezuela, with protesters in Rome, Milan and Athens condemning Washington's actions and calling for respect for Venezuelan sovereignty.

In Rome, more than 1,000 demonstrators marched toward the area near the U.S. Embassy, calling on Washington to immediately release Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife.

Police blocked roads around the embassy to prevent protesters from approaching the building, but demonstrators continued to denounce U.S. actions.

"First of all, we oppose U.S. imperialist aggression. This kind of behavior is shameful. The U.S. is attacking a sovereign country, and as [U.S. President Donald] Trump himself has said, this is for oil interests," said protester Giovanni Barbera.

Saturday's rally marked the second large-scale protest in Rome this month against U.S. military operations in Venezuela, following an earlier one on on Jan 3.

Participants included members of multiple political parties, labor unions and social organizations. The protesters held banners reading "Stop imperialist interference" and "Free Maduro," urging the international community to respect Venezuela's sovereignty and the will of its people, and condemning the U.S. for violating international law.

"We are protesting the way the U.S. handles international politics. Since the events of January 3, we have seen violations of international law, and we are very concerned about how the global situation is developing," said protester Stefano De Angelis.

Organizers said solidarity rallies in support of Venezuela were held in 30 Italian cities on the same day.

Meanwhile, similar protests were also staged in Greece. About 200 people gathered outside the U.S. Embassy in Athens, voicing support for Venezuela and opposition to U.S. military actions.

"We oppose U.S. imperialism and its attack on Venezuela. At the same time, the U.S. is also threatening Cuba, Mexico and Greenland. We must stand up against this behavior," said Greek protester Argiro Sirmakezi.

Protesters rally in Italy, Greece against U.S. military operation in Venezuela