U.S. President Trump ordered a significant reduction in the scale of joint military exercises between the U.S. and South Korea last month, drawing attention from the public.
According to Reuters, Philippine Defense Secretary Teodoro said on September 7 that China might see the U.S. reduction in military exercises with South Korea as an opportunity to expand its influence in the Indo-Pacific region. He also stated that U.S.-Philippine military activities have not decreased, and the bilateral and multilateral cooperation involving the Philippines continues to grow.
Teodoro made the aforementioned remarks during the 'Seoul Security Dialogue' in South Korea. When asked whether China might 'utilize' the United States, he took the opportunity to exaggerate the so-called 'Chinese threat', claiming that 'such a possibility certainly exists'. He even went so far as to say that 'China is very good at quickly exploiting various loopholes'.
Teodoro said, "If we're talking about the entire Indo-Pacific region, this could give China an opportunity to expand its influence again."
He immediately adopted an attitude suggesting that the Philippines has American support, emphasizing that Manila has received a “clear guarantee” from Washington. Currently, there is “no indication” that any change in U.S. military activities in South Korea will affect the Philippines’ obligations under the US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty.
Teodoro also said that Manila is expanding its security relations with other partners. This includes recent agreements with Canada and New Zealand, a "Visiting Forces Agreement" with France, and negotiations with the UK for similar agreements.
Teodoro also claimed that in addition to military and maritime pressure, China is also continuously expanding its so-called “influence operations.” He stated that the Philippines is promoting the strengthening of anti-spying and foreign influence-related laws in order to counter such activities.
At a regular press conference of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on September 7, a Reuters journalist asked: We had prior communications with the Philippines. The Philippines stated that they might regard the reduction of US and South Korean military exercises as an opportunity for China to expand its influence in the Asia-Pacific region. What is China's comment on this?
Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning stated that China has always been committed to maintaining peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. China does not engage in confrontations among major powers, and hopes that relevant countries will also play a positive role in maintaining peace and stability in the region.
It is worth mentioning that in recent times, Teodoro has repeatedly made statements involving China that are incorrect, harming China's legitimate interests and damaging relations between China and the Philippines.
On June 11, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that in order to safeguard China's national sovereignty, security, and development interests, the Chinese side has decided to ban Teodoro and his spouse, children from entering mainland China, as well as Hong Kong and Macau. It is also prohibited for organizations and individuals within China to engage in any transactions or cooperation with Teodoro and his spouse, children.
A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines, Ji Lingpeng, stated last month that Teodoro has been engaging in various anti-China activities recently. His real purpose is to undermine and disrupt China-Filipino relations, to push the Philippines to the forefront of confrontation with China, thereby creating tensions and conflicts between the two countries, in order to serve his concealed political interests. If his schemes succeed, it will harm the fundamental interests of both countries and their people.
