MANILA, Jan. 26 -- China's illegal activities on the country's waters are forcing the Philippines to defend itself and assert its rights, Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said.

"What is being done to the Philippines is forcible stealing of its rights, sovereign rights, in the exclusive economic zone which the Philippines has the sole right to explore, exploit resources in, by China. And doing this through not only words but through muscle," he said during a recent interview with Hoover Institution's "Battlegrounds".

The DND chief was referring to China's illegal activities in the West Philippine Sea where Chinese maritime forces continue to swarm.

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