China could see recent cuts to US-South Korean military exercises as an opportunity to reassert itself in the Indo-Pacific region, Philippine Secretary of Defense Gilberto Teodoro said yesterday, though he said Washington had assured Manila that its commitments to the Philippines remained unchanged.
Speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of the Seoul Defense Dialogue, Teodoro said there had been no reduction in US-Philippine military activities, and that bilateral and multilateral cooperation involving Manila continued to expand.
US President Donald Trump’s decision last month to scale back military exercises with South Korea has prompted debate among security analysts over the credibility of US deterrence in Asia and whether rivals such as China could perceive a weakening of US resolve.
Photo: Reuters
“It is a possibility, of course. China is very quick to exploit gaps,” Teodoro said when asked whether Beijing could seize on the move.
“If we’re talking about the Indo-Pacific as a whole, then it may signal some opportunity for China to reassert itself,” he said.
However, Manila had received “definite assurances” from Washington and that there was “no indication” that the changes in South Korea would affect commitments under the US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty, he said.
Manila has deepened defense cooperation with the US under Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, including expanded joint exercises and greater access for US forces to Philippine military facilities, as tensions with China have intensified in the South China Sea.
Teodoro said Manila was also broadening security ties with other partners. The Philippines recently concluded agreements with Canada and New Zealand, signed a visiting forces agreement with France, and was negotiating a similar pact with Britain, he said.
The defense chief also accused China of relying increasingly on influence operations alongside military and maritime pressure.
“Definitely it takes advantage of democratic space to co-opt people and to use a free media to expand its distortive narratives,” he said.
The Philippines is pursuing stronger espionage and foreign influence legislation to counter such activities, he said.
Asked about Marcos’ recent remarks that progress was being made toward possible joint oil and gas exploration talks with China, Teodoro struck a cautious note, saying it would be “doubtful” that any economic cooperation could be insulated from longstanding sovereignty disputes in the South China Sea.
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mao Ning (毛寧) yesterday said that China “has always been committed to maintaining peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, refraining from great-power confrontation, and hopes that relevant countries can also play a positive role in regional peace and stability.”
Teodoro was in Seoul for talks aimed at expanding defense cooperation with South Korea, one of Manila’s largest arms suppliers.
South Korea has supplied the Philippines with FA-50 light combat aircraft, frigates and other military equipment as Manila modernizes its armed forces.
He said the Philippines was interested in deeper industrial cooperation and emerging defense technologies from South Korea, but indicated that a long-discussed submarine acquisition program remained some way off.
“The submarine program is still under review,” he said, citing questions over mission requirements and the substantial infrastructure needed to support such a capability. “I would say it will be still a way off.”
Teodoro said concerns about China’s actions were encouraging closer security cooperation among countries across the region and could ultimately lead to a more interconnected Indo-Pacific security network.
“I believe so because the motivating factor there is China,” he said.
Singapore’s air quality hit an unhealthy level yesterday, as haze from forest fires raging in Indonesia continued to spread across swathes of Southeast Asia. The city-state is currently one of the 10 most-polluted major cities in the world, coming in at third in IQAir’s ranking. Kuching, in the Malaysian part of the island of Borneo, was No. 1. A government taskforce has “activated haze response plans” for schools, workplaces and community centers, Singaporean Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu (傅海) said in a video message on Facebook. Most people could continue essential daily activities, but the elderly or vulnerable should
WAR CRIMES? An investigation found that a network of countries are supplying Sudan’s RSF with weapons, including drone blamed for large civilian casualties Foreign weapons, military technology, fighters and logistical networks are helping sustain Sudan’s conflict and expanding the warring parties’ ability to strike deep into civilian areas, a UN fact-finding mission said in a report published yesterday, warning that some attacks might amount to war crimes. Sudan’s war erupted in April 2023 following a power struggle between Sudan’s military and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule. The conflict has devastated the country, displaced more than 14 million people and created what the UN has described as one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. The UN mission said
MISSION COMPLETED: Sanders, whose trail name is Grey Beard, has become something of a star among fellow hikers and thousands follow him on social media More than 14 million older adults fall every year in the US, perhaps none so often as 91-year-old Dale Sanders. By his count, Sanders fell 71 times while reclaiming his record as the oldest hiker to complete the Appalachian Trail. Six were what he calls hard falls, including one that led to a brief hospitalization and another just 183m from the finish, but none were enough to permanently divert him from the 3,530km trail that runs between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy defines a “thru-hike” as completing all of the trail’s sections
‘BYE BYE’: Judge William Tam said after hearing arguments for a leniency that a sentence would be given as soon as possible in Joshua Wong’s second prosecution Hong Kong democracy advocate Joshua Wong (黃之鋒) yesterday pleaded guilty to conspiracy to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security under a Beijing-imposed law. It was the second prosecution of Wong, a former student leader in the democracy movement in the territory and one of its most recognizable faces, under the National Security Law introduced in Hong Kong in 2020 to quell massive anti-government protests the year before. Wong, 29, who wore a blue shirt, appeared thinner as he entered his plea. After hearing his lawyer’s arguments for a lesser prison term, Judge William Tam (譚耀豪) said that a sentence would be
RSS