Philippines’ Teodoro says China could exploit cuts in US-South Korean exercises

SEOUL — China could see recent cuts to US-South Korean military exercises as an opportunity to reassert itself in the Indo-Pacific, Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said on Monday, though he said Washington had assured Manila that its commitments to the Philippines remained unchanged.Speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of the Seoul Defence Dialogue, Teodoro said there had been no reduction in US-Philippine military activities and that bilateral and multilateral co-operation involving Manila continued to expand.US President Donald Trump’s decision last month to scale back military exercises with South Korea has prompted debate among security analysts over the credibility of US deterrence in Asia and whether rivals such as China could perceive a weakening of US resolve.”It is a possibility, of course. China is very quick to exploit gaps,” Teodoro said when asked whether Beijing could seize on the move.”If we’re talking about the Indo-Pacific as a whole, then it may signal some opportunity for China to reassert itself,” he said.