BEIJING: Beijing accused Manila on Thursday of “erecting multiple obstacles” to its attendance at an ASEAN meeting in the Philippines this week, where China will be represented by an embassy attache.

While several countries, including the United States, Japan and Australia, are sending their defense chiefs, China opted to send its Manila embassy defense attache.

“The Philippine side has allowed certain politicians to use public office for private ends and erected multiple obstacles to obstruct China’s participation in the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting-Plus,” a spokesperson for the Chinese defense ministry told a news conference.

“This has seriously undermined the ASEAN principle of consensus, gravely contravened the spirit of openness and inclusiveness” of the summit, the spokesperson added.

Asked about Beijing’s comments, the Philippine defense minister told an ASEAN news conference that others in the regional bloc did not share that position.

“It is China’s position; it is not ASEAN’s position,” Gilberto Teodoro told reporters.

“They were given an opportunity to articulate their position, which is not any different from what they have been articulating before,” he added.

The two-day summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations concludes in Cebu on Thursday.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth used the gathering to propose on Wednesday the creation of an “ambitious” US-ASEAN defense framework, as his country aims to build up partnerships in the region.

US ally the Philippines has been engaged in years of confrontations with China over disputed areas of the South China Sea.