MANILA (Reuters) -Philippines Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said on Wednesday that China’s strategic plans for the region are independent of any American leadership and are driven by its own agenda.
In an interview at the Reuters NEXT Asia summit in Singapore, Teodoro added the prospect of war is not imminent and remains remote.
“We see that this design by China is predetermined by their own leader, irrespective of who an American leader is,” Teodoro said, referring to what he described as Beijing’s “expansionist activities.”
Teodoro said China’s sweeping nine-dash claims is “a major security concern” for the Philippines.
The Philippines has been among the most vocal critics of China’s growing assertion of sovereignty in the South China Sea, in contrast to some of its neighbours like Malaysia, who have adopted a more cautious stance.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, despite overlapping claims by Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan.
A 2016 ruling of an international arbitral tribunal said Beijing’s claims, based on its historic maps, have no basis under international law, a decision China does not recognise.
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(Reporting by Mikhail Flores and Raju Gopalakrishnan; Editing by Martin Petty and Stephen Coates)
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