Philippine defense secretary doesn’t expect Trump will demand payment for protection

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said Tuesday that he didn’t expect President-elect Donald Trump’s next administration would demand that the Philippines pay more for military protection because both allies faced the shared threat of China.

Teodoro was speaking at a news conference with Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles following an inaugural bilateral annual meeting aimed at improving security ties.

Asked if Trump would expect the Philippines, like Taiwan, to pay for U.S. protection, Teodoro replied: “I really don’t expect some sort of a statement from Mr. Trump, hopefully not.”

“I really don’t have any preconditions or any assumptions as to what will be the outcome of this administration, except on what we are working on — on institutional ties,” he said.

“We have an interest, both the United States and the Philippines, in ensuring that our partnership continues because — not totally, but principally — … of shared threats. And that is undoubtedly the overreach and the aggressive and illegal activities of China,” he added.

Marles said that Australia had been confident that regardless of the U.S. presidential election outcome, Australia’s alliance with Washington would remain in “good shape.”

“What we see in the election of President Trump and in the formation of his administration, is an administration which will maintain America’s role of leadership in the world, which is really important in terms of maintaining the global rules-based order, which is very much in Australia’s national interest,” Marles said.

Last week, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed two laws reaffirming the extent of his country’s maritime territories and right to resources, including in the South China Sea, angering China, which claims the hotly disputed waterway almost in its entirety.

China’s Foreign Ministry said it summoned the Philippine ambassador to China to lodge a “stern protest.” The ministry condemned the move as an attempt to “solidify the illegal ruling of the South China Sea arbitration case through domestic legislation.”

Confrontations between Chinese and Philippine coast guard and naval forces in the disputed sea passage have spiked alarmingly since last year. That has sparked fears that the United States — Manila’s longtime treaty ally — may get drawn in a major conflict.

The laws, called the Philippine Maritime Zones Act and the Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act, were signed by Marcos in a nationally televised ceremony attended by top military and national security officials. They further cement Manila’s rejection of China’s claims to virtually the entire sea passage, and stipulate jail terms and stiff fines for violators.

Rod Mcguirk, The Associated Press