The Philippines and Indonesia shook off any concerns over a U.S. decision to forego selling new fighter jets to Taiwan, despite fears it could signal a reduction in American support for the region as China expands its military power.

The U.S. decision, reported Monday by the Wall Street Journal, means the Obama administration will upgrade Taiwan's 146 Lockheed Martin F-16 A/B jets rather than selling it 66 new C/D models that the island has been seeking since 2006, according to a congressional official. Southeast Asian officials were watching the outcome closely to see how the U.S. would balance its growing commercial relationship with China with its commitment to help defend Taiwan against possible aggression from China. It is a subject of intense interest in Southeast Asia given ongoing disputes between many of its countries and China, especially over territorial claims in the resource-rich South China Sea.

Some politicians and analysts in the U.S. said the decision on the F-16s represented a capitulation to Beijing.

Nevertheless, "we are not bothered by the U.S. decision," said Edwin Lacierda, a spokesperson for Philippines President Benigno Aquino III. The Philippines has lately been one of the most vocal critics of Chinese activities in the South China Sea and has repeatedly sought assurances from the U.S. that it would help defend the Philippines. He said the Philippines continues to advocate a "multilateral diplomatic discussion" on the South China Sea, parts of which are jointly claimed by China, Vietnam, the Philippines and several other Southeast Asian countries as well as Taiwan.

In Indonesia, Southeast Asia's biggest economy, presidential spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said "we cannot interpret" the U.S. decision on Taiwan as an abdication of America's commitments in Asia. "In a relationship between countries, choices of policy are often being influenced by national interests," he said, and the latest move didn't necessarily mean the U.S. would back away from its other promises to support the region. Last year, for instance, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told a Southeast Asia conference in Hanoi that the U.S. had a national interest in maintaining freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, though how far the U.S. would go to intervene in any escalation of the disputes there remains unclear.