As I see it | Fears over the US-China rift are forcing regional powers to pick a side

Xi Jinping warned that the country needs to get ready for “worst-case and extreme scenarios”, soon after Group of Seven leaders took aim at economic and security challenges from China.

For many countries in the region, the precarious state of US-China ties is a major challenge as concerns grow that an accidental conflict could break out. As the two nations continue to squabble over the lack of engagement between their top defence officials, regional powers are speeding up security realignment.

Defence chiefs from the Philippines, the US, Japan and Australia gathered on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on the weekend, agreeing to boost security cooperation to promote “a free and open Indo-Pacific”. It was the first time Manila had joined the Washington-led coalition with Tokyo and Canberra, both of which have long been the bulwark of the US alliance-based strategy to curb Beijing.

Joint maritime patrols in the South China Sea were discussed at what appeared to be a largely symbolic meeting. But it marked another step for Manila under President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr to seek closer defence ties with Washington and its allies to counter Beijing in the maritime dispute.

Some US commentators say this grouping could become a new Quad – made up of the US, Japan, Australia and India – and one that would be more openly anti-China. Compared to the Philippines, a US treaty ally, India is seen as more reluctant to confront China, despite their border dispute.