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Hayley Wong

Amber Wang

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.
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.
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.
Addressing the same session, Thai Defence Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said: “Despite all the differences between our superpower friends, we are friends to all.”
China’s foreign and defence ministries on Sunday condemned Hegseth’s comments, issuing separate statements decrying America’s “bullying” and “Cold War mindset”.
Hegseth’s remarks were a “severe provocation of China’s sovereignty rights and distortion of China’s policy” and “severely disregarded the joint efforts of regional countries to uphold prosperity and stability”, defence ministry spokesman Zhang Xiaogang said.


Asean members, many of whom have territorial disputes with Beijing in the South China Sea, have long emphasised the policy of non-alignment with superpowers. However, America’s increased strategic focus on the region in response to China’s economic and military rise has left them facing a complex balancing act.
Hegseth said on Saturday that “China’s behaviour toward its neighbours and the world is a wake-up call and an urgent one”, as he called on US partners and allies to boost defence spending to more than 5 per cent of gross domestic product.
Abdul Rahman Yaacob, a research fellow at the Lowy Institute’s Southeast Asia programme, said faced with the imposition of now-halted US tariffs, Asean members were “not likely to increase their defence spending in the short term because of economic uncertainty”.
While Chinese military expansion and its assertiveness in the South China Sea were worrying for Asean, “China’s rise has brought economic benefits to Southeast Asia”, he noted.
The South China Sea – which has seen frequent stand-offs between China and the Philippines in recent years – continues to be a regional hotspot and was a talking point at the three-day forum in Singapore.
At least two members of the Chinese delegation raised questions with Teodoro. Qi Dapeng, a professor at the People Liberation Army’s National Defence University (NDU), asked why Manila could not effectively manage the maritime differences with Beijing, unlike other rival claimants like Vietnam and Malaysia.
Zhang Chi, an associate professor at NDU, asked whether Teodoro was “concerned” that a proxy war might be launched in Asia, as the United States was selling more arms to the region and setting up more military bases in the Philippines.
Teodoro responded that the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam were “sovereign countries, each with its own territorial integrity and sovereignty”.
But they would have a different reaction if “what China is doing to the Philippines is done to the two [other] countries”, he said.


He also said that “for dialogue to be effective, it must be coupled with trust, and China has a lot of trust-building to do, to be an effective negotiating partner in dispute settlement”.
The deficit of trust – as reflected in China’s militarisation of disputed islands while it insisted on “peaceful intentions” – was the “biggest stumbling block” for dispute resolution or dialogue with China, Teodoro said.
Other leaders also stressed their concerns over big power rivalry in the region.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim of Malaysia said: “History has shown that when major powers attempt to divide the world into exclusive zones of control, smaller nations are often left voiceless.”
“Our approach is one of active non-alignment,” he said on Saturday. “While we welcome a strong and enduring US presence in the region towards fostering peace, we also value our vibrant and firm ties with China and our robust partnership across Asia, Europe, and the Global South.”
According to Yaacob at Lowy Institute, “it is difficult for Southeast Asian countries to maintain hedging” between the two big powers and, in the long run, Asean would “rely less on the US, and more on like-minded partners” such as the European Union and Gulf Cooperation Council.
“My concern is that in the long term, the US will be less relevant to this part of the world because there is a divergence between Southeast Asian countries and the US on the correlation between economy and militarisation.”


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‘Not mere pawns’ in big power rivalry: Asean asserts agency at Shangri-La Dialogue

Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jnr delivers his speech at the Shangri-la Dialogue Defence Summit, in Singapore on Sunday. Photo: EPA-EFE 

China aims to alter Indo-Pacific status quo, Pete Hegseth warns at Shangri-La Dialogue

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth delivers his speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Saturday. Photo: EPA-EFE

What made China keep a low profile at Shangri-La Dialogue?

Hu Gangfeng (centre), a PLA major general and leader of China’s delegation to the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, arrives for the forum’s opening ceremony on Friday. Photo: Hayley Wong

China’s Dong Jun to skip Singapore forum – and a chance to meet US, Asian defence chiefs

Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun (centre) walks out following a bilateral meeting with then US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin on the sidelines of the 21st Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on May 31 of last year. Photo: AFP

China’s absence felt at Shangri-La Dialogue, Singapore’s defence chief says

Singapore’s Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing (centre right) and other defence chiefs take part in a ministerial roundtable during the Shangri-La Dialogue on Saturday. Photo: AFP

Singapore’s Minister for Defence Chan Chun Sing (back row, second left) speaks as US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and other defence ministers look on during a ministerial roundtable at the Shangri-La Dialogue on Saturday. Photo: EPA-EFE

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth (left) and Singapore’s Minister for Defence Chan Chun Sing shake hands before a ministerial roundtable during the Shangri-la Dialogue in Singapore on Saturday. Photo: EPA-EFE

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force launches an intercontinental ballistic missile carrying a dummy warhead into the Pacific Ocean, at an undisclosed location, in September 2024. Photo: Chinese People’s Liberation Army News and Communication Centre / AFP

South China Sea tensions ‘won’t stop’ Asean’s blue economy growth, official says

Filipino fishermen aboard their wooden boats pass a Chinese coastguard ship near the China-controlled Scarborough Shoal, in disputed waters of the South China Sea, in February 2024. Photo: AFP

Fishermen pull a net onto a beach in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. The blue economy is a key component of Asean’s push for sustainable development. Photo: AFP

Fishing boats near Vietnam’s Ly Son island. Vietnam and the Philippines have repeatedly filed protests against China for its annual fishing bans. Photo: AFP

Malaysian fishermen load freshly caught fish into containers in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. Photo: Shutterstock

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US warnings about China ‘threat’ unlikely to be fully endorsed by Asean, given spectre of steep tariffs under Trump, analyst says


US warnings about China ‘threat’ unlikely to be fully endorsed by Asean, given spectre of steep tariffs under Trump, analyst says.


‘Not mere pawns’ in big power rivalry: Asean asserts agency at Shangri-La Dialogue

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}US warnings about China ‘threat’ unlikely to be fully endorsed by Asean, given spectre of steep tariffs under Trump, analyst says

US warnings about China ‘threat’ unlikely to be fully endorsed by Asean, given spectre of steep tariffs under Trump, analyst says