Asean defence chiefs emphasised individual agency at the Shangri-La Dialogue, after US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth called on Indo-Pacific allies to boost military spending and cooperation to counter what he called the “real” threat posed by China.
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Among them was Philippine Secretary of National Defence Gilberto Teodoro Jnr, who asserted that his country, a US treaty ally, was not a mere pawn with “no strategic agency”.
Despite China’s pursuit of being a superpower, “we must not overemphasise this reality”, Teodoro told a panel at Asia’s premier annual security conference on Sunday.
“Doing so unfairly portrays [that] the legitimate actions taken by smaller states [are] being carried out at the behest of major powers, as if we were mere pawns with no strategic agency of our own,” he said, though he also highlighted a deficit of trust with Beijing.
On Saturday, Hegseth had raised concerns over Taiwan and the South China Sea as he warned regional defence leaders of the possibly “imminent” threat from Beijing.
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However, an observer said those views were unlikely to be fully endorsed by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, as they still faced economic uncertainties from steep US tariffs under President Donald Trump and sought to diversify trade ties away from the great powers.
