Teodoro says Philippine Marines are too small and need new bases as he rejects China's Batanes claim

Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr said on Saturday that the Philippine Marine Corps is far too small for an archipelago of about 7,600 islands, and called for the corps to grow and to set up strategic operating bases. He spoke at the corps' 76th anniversary celebration at Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City, according to a Philippine News Agency report carried by The Chronicle.

Teodoro echoed the Marine commandant, Major General Bob Apostol, in calling a footprint of four Marine brigades and one service support brigade inadequate. He tied the expansion to the Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept, the strategy Manila uses to frame the defence of its full maritime zones, and said the Marines need a credible presence and deterrent in the Kalayaan Island Group in the Spratlys. That, he said, calls for closer coordination among the Marines, the Army, the Navy, the Air Force and the Coast Guard.

He asked for an expansion plan that is urgent but sustainable, with bases that could share sites with other military facilities or be built separately. He also warned that the reserves the armed forces count on paper are not sufficient, arguing that physically holding and controlling stocks now matters most as global supply chains tighten and competition for resources grows.

Speaking to ABS-CBN News on the same day, Teodoro dismissed renewed Chinese assertions that question Philippine sovereignty over Batanes, the country's northernmost province. He said no form of messaging works with Beijing and described China as numb to it. He called the claims disinformation and misinformation, and said Manila has firm legal and historical grounds as well as the arbitral award to support its position. Bombo Radyo separately reported the same remarks, including his appeal to Filipinos to ignore false narratives and keep backing the troops.

The row goes back to a symposium held on 30 June at Jinan University in Guangzhou. Chinese scholars there claimed that Batanes is a natural geographic extension of Taiwan and should therefore come under Chinese sovereignty, and they questioned the legal basis of Philippine ownership. ABS-CBN said China had allegedly restated that position on Saturday. These are Chinese claims that Manila rejects.

The National Historical Commission of the Philippines has already rejected those arguments. It points to records showing that Batanes was formally incorporated into the Spanish colonial administration in 1783 and says there is no historical evidence that China ever governed the islands.

Teodoro linked the dispute directly to basing. He said the government does not take such threats lightly, even though it does not want to alarm the public, and that securing the country's maritime zones requires strategic bases, including on the Pacific-facing side of the Philippines, where the military has none today. He acknowledged that building such facilities will take time and said preparatory work has already begun.

He added that the approaching ASEAN summit, and the foreign ministry's calls for continued dialogue with Beijing, will not change how the defence department and the armed forces carry out their operations.

The anniversary speech builds on a push Teodoro started in October. During a visit to the Western Command headquarters in Puerto Princesa, he told Apostol to draw up a growth plan for the corps and said a marine force without mobility and firepower is not a real marine force, especially along the eastern seaboard, where he said there is little military presence.

At Fort Bonifacio, Teodoro also called for more multilateral exercises and closer ties with foreign marine forces to help the Philippines choose tactics, technology and equipment that suit its terrain and waters. He urged investment in future commanders through mentoring, cross-training, international postings and early leadership roles.