MELBOURNE, Australia – Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said on Tuesday that he did not expect the next administration of President-elect Donald Trump to ask the Philippines to pay more for military protection as both allies face the common threat from China.

Teodoro spoke at a press conference with the Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles following an inaugural annual bilateral meeting aimed at improving security ties.

Asked if Trump would expect the Philippines, like Taiwan, to do so pay for US protectionTeodoro responded: “I really don’t expect some kind of statement from Mr. Trump, I hope not.”

“I really don’t have any preconditions or assumptions about the outcome of this administration, except for what we’re working on — the institutional linkages,” he said.

“Both the United States and the Philippines, we have an interest in ensuring that our partnership continues because of — not entirely, but primarily — … shared threats. And this is undoubtedly China’s overreach and aggressive and illegal activities,” he added.

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

“What we see in the election of President Trump and the formation of his administration is an administration that will maintain America’s leadership role in the world, which is really important in terms of maintaining the rules-based global order, which is very important. 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 South China Sea, angering China, which claims almost all of the hotly contested waterway.

China’s foreign ministry said it had summoned the Philippine ambassador to China to lodge a “severe protest”. The ministry condemned the move as an attempt to “consolidate the illegal award of the South China Sea arbitration case through domestic law.”

Clashes between the Chinese and Philippine coast guards and naval forces in the disputed sea passage have increased alarmingly since last year. This raised fears that the United States – a longtime ally of the Manila treaty – could be drawn into a major conflict.

The laws, called the Philippine Maritime Zones Act and the Philippine Archipelago Seaways 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 almost the entire sea passage and stipulate jail terms and heavy fines for violators.

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