"No Matter How They Sugarcoat It": Philippines Stands Firm Against China Despite Trump-Xi Thaw

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A Summit in Geneva, A Crisis in the South China Sea

When U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met earlier this month, many observers hoped the diplomatic warming could ease tensions across Asia. For the Philippines, however, the picture looks very different.

Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Saturday — Asia's most important annual defense forum — Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro delivered a blunt message: his country remains under "severe threat," both territorially and politically, from China. No summit between major powers, he suggested, changes that reality for smaller nations caught in Beijing's shadow.

"For countries like the Philippines, we have no choice but really to be resilient and to stand up against Chinese aggression," Teodoro told reporters on the sidelines of the conference.

Big Powers Can Talk — Small Nations Must Defend Themselves

Teodoro acknowledged that it is natural for large powers like the United States and China to manage their tensions. When two military giants are roughly matched, he explained, there is mutual respect and room to negotiate. But for a country like the Philippines, which lacks that kind of strategic depth, the calculus is entirely different.

The Philippines and China have been locked in a string of increasingly dangerous maritime confrontations in the South China Sea. Beijing claims the vast majority of this strategically vital body of water — despite a landmark 2016 international arbitration ruling that found those claims have no legal basis under international law. China rejects that ruling entirely.

The disputed waters overlap with the maritime rights of several other nations, including Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan. All have faced pressure from Chinese coast guard and naval vessels in recent years.

U.S. Commitment: Solid, and Getting Stronger

A key question at the forum was whether the Trump-Xi summit had quietly softened Washington's commitment to its treaty ally in Manila. Teodoro was unambiguous: there is no sign of that.

The 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty between the United States and the Philippines — reaffirmed as recently as February 2026 during bilateral talks in Manila — commits both countries to defend each other against external armed attack. The U.S. Congress also authorized up to $2.5 billion in military financing for the Philippines as part of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2026, underlining the depth of that commitment in concrete terms.

Teodoro added that the treaty's strength is multiplied by the Philippines' growing web of defense partnerships with Japan, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Earlier this year, Australia and the Philippines finalized an enhanced defense pact allowing for expanded joint military exercises and infrastructure development at five locations across the archipelago.

"The commitment of the United States becomes more solid when more actors, at least in the deterrence phase, come in, because there is a common threat," Teodoro said.

China's Olive Branch: Pretty Words, No Substance

Reports have emerged that China recently offered the Philippines fertilizer and fuel during supply shortages triggered by the conflict in the Middle East. Teodoro was dismissive.

"No matter how they sugarcoat their assistance to us, it doesn't cut the mustard," he said. Any genuine demonstration of goodwill, he argued, would require long-term and consistent changes in behavior — none of which have materialized. He called China's gestures "guileful" — a polished way of saying deliberately deceptive.

Teodoro has made clear on multiple occasions that the core problem is not China's people, but its government. "It will depend on the government system. We have no problem with the Chinese people," he said separately to reporters at the same summit. Better relations, he emphasized, would first require a Chinese government that other nations could actually trust.

Manila's Strategy: Build, Resist, Expand Alliances

The Philippines' approach, Teodoro outlined, rests on three pillars: building national resilience, standing firm against pressure, and rapidly modernizing defense infrastructure. That process is underway "in a very realistic and rapid way," he said.

The broader coalition forming around Manila — including the United States, Japan, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand — signals that Beijing's behavior in the South China Sea is increasingly seen not just as a regional problem, but as a shared international concern. The 2025 and 2026 Shangri-La Dialogues have both seen sharpened rhetoric from Manila, with Teodoro repeatedly calling out Chinese military officers who attempt to frame the dispute as Philippine provocation rather than Chinese aggression.

What Comes Next

The South China Sea remains one of the world's most volatile flashpoints, with over $3 trillion in global trade passing through its waters annually. China's continued rejection of the 2016 arbitration ruling — and its ongoing construction and militarization of artificial islands — leaves little room for optimism about a near-term resolution.

For the Philippines, the message from Singapore was clear: diplomacy between great powers is welcome, but it does not replace the hard work of building deterrence. Manila intends to keep doing exactly that.

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Sources:

1. Reuters – Philippines remains under threat from China despite Trump-Xi summit, minister says (May 30, 2026): https://www.reuters.com/world/china/philippines-remains-under-threat-china-despite-trump-xi-summit-minister-says-2026-05-30/
2. Philippine Inquirer / Global Nation – Teodoro: Stronger PH-China ties hinge on 'sincere' Chinese government (May 29, 2026): https://globalnation.inquirer.net/325292/teodoro-stronger-ph-china-ties-hinge-on-sincere-chinese-govt
3. Indo-Pacific Defense Forum – Australia, Philippines to enhance defense pact as tensions with China rise (August 2025): https://ipdefenseforum.com/2025/08/australia-philippines-to-enhance-defense-pact-as-tensions-with-china-rise/
4. Indo-Pacific Defense Forum – US, Philippines launch military task force for South China Sea (November 2025): https://ipdefenseforum.com/2025/11/us-philippines-launch-military-task-force-for-areas-including-south-china-sea/
5. U.S. Mission to ASEAN – Joint Statement on Philippines-United States Bilateral Strategic Dialogue (February 2026): https://asean.usmission.gov/joint-statement-on-the-philippines-united-states-bilateral-strategic-dialogue/
6. U.S. Congress – Congressional Research Service: The Philippines (March 2026): https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF10250

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