The Philippines is not worried about any reduction in US deterrence capabilities in the Indo-Pacific due to the war in the Middle East, its defence secretary said on Tuesday, although he warned China could try and seize any perceived opening.
Gilberto Teodoro’s comments came in an interview with Reuters amid annual joint military drills with the United States that have drawn the largest number of participating countries ever, including Japanese combat troops for the first time.
China’s recent actions in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait were “not surprising”, Teodoro added, saying Beijing looked to take advantage when it thought rival powers were preoccupied elsewhere.
Manila and Beijing have been locked in a series of maritime confrontations in the South China Sea in recent years, which China claims almost entirely as its own despite a 2016 arbitral ruling that invalidated those claims.
“It is not surprising that any opportunity they see, perceived opportunity, or with a perceived weakness or a perceived opening, they will take advantage,” Teodoro said.
Teodoro said he had full confidence in the Mutual Defence Treaty, the long-standing security pact between Manila and Washington, and was not worried by concerns that the Iran war could weaken US strategic bandwidth in Asia.
“I’m not concerned at all about reduced deterrence,” he said, pointing to the Balikatan military exercises as a sign of Washington’s commitment.
