MANILA — A security grouping in South-east Asia similar to Nato is not possible at present given diverging interests and alliances in the region, Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said on Nov 5.
Asked about the prospect of a Nato equivalent in South-east Asia, Teodoro told a security forum that Asean's complex "dichotomies and divergence in country interests" would make it challenging to set up a unified military alliance.
"For example, we have a pre-Asean defence alliance with the United States. We continue to build alliances with like-minded countries," he said in a security forum in Manila.
"Other Asean countries have built alliances with China."
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The remarks come after new Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, prior to taking office, had floated the idea of establishing an "Asian Nato", a proposal that has gained no traction and was rejected by the US and India.
Japan's foreign minister later said such an idea was not aimed at countering a specific country, when asked if it had China in mind.
Teodoro said he would rather Asean recognise that China was "overstepping" in the South China Sea.
There have been recent clashes over territorial claims with the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia.
China and US ally the Philippines have been at loggerheads over a series of confrontations near disputed areas in the South China Sea.
Manila has accused China's coast guard of aggression, and Beijing has said it is responding to what it calls repeated provocations and territorial incursions.
"Getting some principles or some reactions regarding the expansive activities and admittedly illegal activities of China in the South China Sea is a very good first step and that's what we should be working on," Teodoro said.
The Philippines has called on South-east Asian leaders and China to urgently speed up negotiations on a code of conduct for the South China Sea, to manage differences and reduce tension.
In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled that Beijing's claims in the South China Sea have no legal basis, siding with the Philippines which brought the case. Beijing has rejected the ruling.
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