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…
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