Philippines defence chief warns China could exploit cuts to US-South Korea exercises

China is quick to exploit gaps, Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr said, warning that cuts to US-South Korean military exercises could offer Beijing an opening in the Indo-Pacific.

Speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of the Seoul Defence Dialogue, Teodoro said the reduction in exercises had prompted questions about the credibility of US deterrence in Asia. “It is a possibility, of course. China is very quick to exploit gaps,” he said. “If we’re talking about the Indo-Pacific as a whole, then it may signal some opportunity for China to reassert itself.”

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It is a possibility, of course. China is very quick to exploit gaps.

Teodoro said Manila had received “definite assurances” from Washington that its commitments to the Philippines remained unchanged. He said there had been no reduction in US-Philippine military activities, while bilateral and multilateral cooperation involving Manila continued to expand. The Philippines has deepened defence cooperation with the United States under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, including expanded joint exercises and greater US access to Philippine military facilities as tensions with China have intensified in the South China Sea.

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If we’re talking about the Indo-Pacific as a whole, then it may signal some opportunity for China to reassert itself.

Manila is also broadening security ties with other partners. Teodoro said the Philippines had recently concluded agreements with Canada and New Zealand, signed a visiting forces agreement with France and was negotiating a similar pact with Britain. He accused China of increasingly combining influence operations with military and maritime pressure, saying Beijing used democratic space and free media to promote what he called distortive narratives. Manila is pursuing stronger espionage and foreign influence legislation in response, he said.

Teodoro also expressed caution about possible joint oil and gas exploration talks with China. He said it would be “doubtful” that economic cooperation could be separated from longstanding sovereignty disputes in the South China Sea. In Seoul, he was discussing expanded defence cooperation with South Korea, a major Philippine arms supplier, including deeper industrial cooperation. Philippine submarines remained under review.

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Definitely it takes advantage of democratic space to co-opt people and to use a free media to expand its distortive narratives.