Manila sees China threat unchanged despite Trump-Xi thaw

Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said on May 30 that the Philippines remains under "severe threat" from China both territory-wise and politically, despite a recent thaw in US-China tensions following the summit between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping earlier that month. Speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Teodoro said countries like the United States and China naturally seek to ease tensions because "when they are at parity defence-wise, then there is respect and the capability to adjust because of the depth that both countries have." He emphasized that for the Philippines, which faces repeated maritime standoffs with Beijing in the South China Sea, the only option is to build resilience, strengthen alliances, and rapidly upgrade defence infrastructure. China's military responded the following day, with the People's Liberation Army's Southern Theatre Command announcing it carried out combat readiness patrols near Scarborough Shoal, one of the most contested maritime features in the region. China's coast guard said in a separate statement it conducted law enforcement patrols near the atoll, claiming it had dealt with ships engaged in "illegal rights-violation activities" since May. The patrols came as defence ministers and policymakers gathered in Singapore for the annual security forum, highlighting the ongoing tensions in the disputed waters. Teodoro stated there was no indication that US commitments to the Philippines under their mutual defence treaty were being affected by either the Trump-Xi summit or the ongoing war in the Middle East, adding that Manila's defence ties with Japan, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand further "buttressed" these commitments. He dismissed reports that China had offered fertiliser and fuel to the Philippines during shortages triggered by the Middle East conflict, saying "no matter how they sugarcoat their assistance to us, it doesn't cut the mustard" and that any actual demonstration of good faith on a long-term basis was absent. China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea through a "nine-dash line" that overlaps with the exclusive economic zones of the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Indonesia, claims that were largely discredited by a 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling that Beijing rejects.