China is putting ever greater pressure on the Philippines to cede its sovereign rights in the South China Sea, Manila's Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said on Tuesday after meeting his Australian counterpart in Canberra.

Indonesia's foreign ministry has repeatedly claimed the country is a non-claimant state in the South China Sea and that it has no overlapping jurisdiction with China. On Monday, the ministry said its position was unchanged and the agreement would have no impact on its sovereign rights.

The Philippine military has opened two weeks of combat drills that will include seizing an island in the disputed South China Sea and likely be frowned upon by China.

Indonesia denied that it had effectively recognized China’s disputed claims in the South China Sea after a joint statement with Beijing over developing contested areas came under fierce criticism.

China is putting ever-greater pressure on the Philippines to cede its sovereign rights in the South China Sea, Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro said on Tuesday after a meeting with his Australian counterpart in Canberra.