China’s growing military presence and escalating South China Sea disputes dominated discussions at the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus in the Philippines….reports Asian Lite News Desk
Rising tensions in the South China Sea and concerns over China’s expanding military capabilities emerged as key issues at the recent Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) and related engagements in the Philippines.
Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles warned that China’s military expansion was creating a “condition of pressure” across Southeast Asia, amid a diplomatic dispute between Beijing and Manila over China’s participation in the defence summit held in Cebu, the Philippines.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the ADMM-Plus meeting last week, Marles described China’s military build-up as the largest conventional military expansion witnessed since World War II. He also raised concerns over Beijing’s growing assertiveness, calling for stronger coordination among like-minded partners and allies, according to a report by The Diplomat.
“We need to be ensuring that how we understand the rules of the road continues to apply, because for a middle power like Australia, it is actually the rules which give us agency,” Marles said.
Australia had also protested China’s test-firing of a nuclear-capable ballistic missile in the South Pacific in July, describing the launch as “provocative and destabilising”.
The report noted that China had increased both the frequency and intensity of its incursions into areas of the South China Sea claimed by the Philippines in recent years, triggering a series of increasingly dangerous confrontations between the two countries.
China-Philippines dispute spills into ASEAN defence summit
The maritime tensions also extended into a diplomatic controversy surrounding China’s participation in the ASEAN defence meetings.
China’s Ministry of Defence accused the Philippines of obstructing Beijing’s participation in the ADMM engagements and violating “basic diplomatic protocols”.
Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun subsequently skipped the meeting, which brings together defence ministers from ASEAN’s 11 member countries and eight dialogue partners: Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea and the United States.
China was instead represented by its defence attaché, marking its lowest-level representation at the ADMM-Plus since the forum was established in 2010, The Diplomat reported.
Responding to the controversy, Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro did not directly address Beijing’s allegations. He said China had “been given an opportunity to articulate their position, which is not any different from what they have been articulating before”.
The diplomatic dispute reflected the strained relations between Beijing and Manila, which have deteriorated following repeated confrontations in contested areas of the South China Sea.
The tensions have been particularly pronounced around Scarborough Shoal and Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands, where both countries maintain competing territorial claims.
The latest developments underscore the growing strategic challenges facing Southeast Asia, as China’s expanding military presence and competing maritime claims continue to test regional relations and security cooperation.
