Beijing's two-track play: pressure Manila, court Jakarta

<p><em>Special Reporting from LSN News, adapted from today's Power Play Asia episode. <a href="https://youtu.be/IYHaH2JR0F0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Watch the video on YouTube.</a></em></p>

<p>In the same week that Southeast Asia's defence ministers met in Cebu, China sent two very different signals to two very different neighbours. To the Philippines, it sent coast guard cutters rehearsing water cannon drills at two disputed shoals. To Indonesia, it offered joint army training in Guangzhou. The question is whether Beijing can keep pressuring one member of ASEAN while courting another, without the bloc closing ranks.</p>

<h2>Drills at the shoals</h2>

<p>On Friday, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported that a China Coast Guard flotilla led by the cutter Dong'an had recently trained in the waters around Second Thomas Shoal and Sabina Shoal, known in Manila as Ayungin and Escoda, according to the Global Times.</p>

<p>The drills simulated a foreign fishing boat entering the area. Chinese officers boarded it, seized its gear and catch, and ordered it to leave. The training also covered water cannon drills and drone operations. Lin Weicong, an officer aboard the Dong'an, said the exercise improved readiness for responding to what he called infringements by foreign parties.</p>

<p>Both shoals lie inside the Philippines' exclusive economic zone. An international tribunal ruled in 2016 that China's sweeping claims in the South China Sea have no legal basis, a ruling Beijing rejects. LSN News found no public Philippine response to the drills by the time of publication.</p>

<h2>A war of words over the Cebu meetings</h2>

<p>In Cebu, China was represented at the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus by its defence attaché in Manila rather than by Defence Minister Dong Jun. On Thursday, China's defence ministry spokesperson, Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang, blamed the hosts. He said an unnamed "self-serving politician" had put up obstacles to China's participation, and accused the Philippines of "willful acts to hijack ASEAN and stir up troubles". He also claimed that many ASEAN countries had raised questions and opposition.</p>

<p>Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, who chaired the meetings, rejected that claim. "It is China's position; it is not ASEAN's position," he said, according to Agence France-Presse. Reuters reported that he added that no ASEAN member had raised similar concerns. Beijing sanctioned Teodoro in June.</p>

<p>US War Secretary Pete Hegseth used the platform. He proposed a new US-ASEAN framework for defence cooperation, timed to the fiftieth anniversary of formal US-ASEAN relations next year, and said Washington was ready to begin work on it with Singapore, which takes over the chair. He described the American approach as "strong, quiet, and clear".</p>

<h2>The other track: Indonesia</h2>

<p>While Hegseth spoke in Cebu, Chinese and Indonesian army troops were already training together in Guangzhou. China's defence ministry says the exercise, Sharp Knife 2026, opened on 27 October and runs into early November. It focuses on counter-terrorism rescue in mountainous terrain, with helicopter rappelling, close-range assault and manned and unmanned systems working together.</p>

<p>Washington noticed. A State Department spokesman told the Voice of America: "China should not exploit military cooperation with Indonesia to advance Beijing's ambitions to dominate Southeast Asia politically, militarily, and economically." Yet Jakarta keeps both doors open. In April, Hegseth and Indonesia's Defence Minister, Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, announced a Major Defense Cooperation Partnership. Reuters notes that China's nine-dash line also cuts into the exclusive economic zones of Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei, not only the Philippines.</p>

<p>On LSN News' scorecard, the water goes to Beijing, which sets the pace at the shoals. The room goes to Manila and Washington: China's claim that ASEAN shares its grievance was rejected by the chair, and its absence left the Americans the floor. The other track goes to Beijing, since training with the bloc's biggest member shows China is not isolated in Southeast Asia. ASEAN unity is a draw, and that is the problem. Teodoro said that if other ASEAN countries faced the same kind of action at the same magnitude, they would resist it to the best of their ability.</p>

<p>Our verdict: Beijing's two-track play is working, for now. It squeezes the one neighbour that pushes back and rewards those that hedge, which keeps ASEAN from speaking with one voice on the sea. Washington's answer is a framework that does not yet exist on paper. The test comes next year, when Singapore holds the chair and the US-ASEAN anniversary arrives. If Southeast Asia's other claimants start to see Manila's shoals as their own problem, Beijing's split screen becomes a single picture, and that is the outcome it is working hardest to avoid.</p>

<h2>Sources</h2>

<ul>

<li><a href="https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202610/1373290.shtml" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Global Times, 30 Oct 2026, &quot;China Coast Guard drills around Ren&#x27;ai Jiao, Xianbin Jiao to strengthen readiness for foreign infringements: report&quot;</a></li>

<li><a href="https://www.zaobao.com.sg/news/china/story20261030-9919842" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lianhe Zaobao, 30 Oct 2026, 「中国海警仁爱礁海域开展执法训练 做好应对外方侵权准备」</a></li>

<li><a href="https://www.chinanews.com.cn/gn/2026/10-30/10723130.shtml" target="_blank" rel="noopener">China News Service, 30 Oct 2026, 「中国海警在仁爱礁仙宾礁海域开展海上综合执法训练」</a></li>

<li><a href="http://eng.mod.gov.cn/2025xb/P/16496928.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">China Ministry of National Defense, 29 Oct 2026, &quot;The Philippines Abuses Chairmanship to Put up Obstacles to China&#x27;s Participation in ADMM-Plus: Defense Spokesperson&quot;</a></li>

<li><a href="https://www.internazionale.it/ultime-notizie-reuters/2026/10/29/china-says-philippine-politician-imposed-obstacles-to-its-participation-at-asean-defence-meeting" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reuters (Mikhail Flores, Joe Cash), 29 Oct 2026, &quot;Philippines-China tensions resurface at the close of ASEAN defence gathering&quot;</a></li>

<li><a href="https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/philippines-china-tensions-resurface-at-the-close-of-asean-defence-gathering" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Straits Times (Reuters), 29 Oct 2026, &quot;China cries foul as tensions with Manila flare at ASEAN defence talks&quot;</a></li>

<li><a href="https://www.manilatimes.net/2026/10/30/world/beijing-says-philippines-erected-obstacles-to-asean-attendance/2457877" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Agence France-Presse via The Manila Times, 30 Oct 2026, &quot;Beijing says Philippines &#x27;erected obstacles&#x27; to ASEAN attendance&quot;</a></li>

<li><a href="https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/news/20261029de68041/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NHK World-Japan, 29 Oct 2026, &quot;ASEAN plus defense ministers gather in the Philippines&quot;</a></li>

<li><a href="https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2026/10/29/2566339/hegseth-pushes-us-asean-defense-framework-china-scales-back-talks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Philstar.com (Cristina Chi), 29 Oct 2026, &quot;Hegseth pushes US-ASEAN defense framework as China scales back at talks&quot;</a></li>

<li><a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/us-war-secretary-seeks-stronger-asean-ties-as-china-indonesia-begin-joint-training-20261029/8216573.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Voice of America, 29 Oct 2026, &quot;US War Secretary seeks stronger ASEAN ties as China, Indonesia begin joint training&quot;</a></li>

<li><a href="http://eng.mod.gov.cn/2025xb/N/T/16496698.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">China Military Online / China MND, 28 Oct 2026, &quot;China-Indonesia &quot;Sharp Knife 2026&quot; joint army counter-terrorism training kicks off&quot;</a></li>

<li><a href="http://eng.chinamil.com.cn/2025xb/H_251454/L_251456/16496280.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">China Military Online, 26 Oct 2026, &quot;China, Indonesia to hold Sharp Knife 2026 joint army counter-terrorism training&quot;</a></li>

<li><a href="https://www.mfa.gov.cn/eng/xw/fyrbt/202606/t20260611_11942742.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">China Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 11 Jun 2026, sanctions on Gilberto Teodoro Jr.</a></li>

<li><a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-bans-philippines-defense-minister-entry-7a8a6f515acdf7b1f6b3d688d9bcc6f8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Associated Press, Jun 2026, &quot;Philippines defense secretary banned from China over South China Sea comments&quot;</a></li>

<li><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/10/29/asean-defense-ministers-adopt-5-initiatives-for-region-s-security-1856" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ABS-CBN News (Annie Perez), 29 Oct 2026, &quot;ASEAN defense ministers adopt 5 initiatives for region&#x27;s security&quot;</a></li>

</ul>