A “deficit of trust” stands in the way of Beijing’s ability to resolve disputes such as overlapping claims in the South China Sea, said Philippine defence chief Gilberto Teodoro Jr on June 1.

Speaking at a plenary session during the 22nd Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Mr Teodoro also hit back at questions from Chinese delegates after one official compared the Philippines’ handling of the waterway dispute with China with the approaches taken by Malaysia and Vietnam, asking why Manila could not “do the same” and “effectively manage” these differences.

The same official also asked if Manila’s intention was to “act as a proxy for external powers”.

Among the claimants of the contested waterway, Manila, which has a mutual defence treaty with Washington, has been one of the most vocal in speaking out against Beijing’s moves to assert its sovereignty in the South China Sea, with tense confrontations breaking out in recent times between the two countries’ vessels and coast guards.

This is in contrast to fellow Asean member states that also have territorial claims in the strategic waterway, which China claims the majority of via a “nine-dash line” it uses to demarcate its territory.