THE Philippines has the right to build up a credible defense without any question coming from other nations, newly appointed Defense Secretary Gilberto "Gibo" Teodoro Jr. said on Wednesday.

"The job of the Secretary of the National Defense is first and foremost building up our credible deterrent, and the way that we build up our credible deterrent is our business and nobody else's business and whether we partner with country X or Y in order to build up our own core strength is a question for the Philippines," he said in a television interview.

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