US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegses met with Manila's Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos and said both countries must stand “shoulder-to-shoulder” in the face of the threat represented by China.
Hegses' meeting at the Presidential Palace comes when he opens a tour of the Pacific Alliance, which is at risk hidden by leaked scandals over leaked plans for a military strike.
“There's a need for deterrence all over the world, but in your country, especially in this region, we're considering the threat from communists,” he said.
A visit to Hegseth's Manila is followed by a trip to the battlefields of Tokyo and World War II, followed by a months-long conflict between the contested Philippines and Chinese ships in the South China Sea.
Beijing has argued almost the entire important waterway despite an international ruling that its claims have no merit.
“Friends need to stand shoulder to shoulder to stop the conflict, ensuring there is free navigation, whether they are in the South China Sea or the West Philippine Sea,” Hegses said.
“Peace through strength is very realistic.”
The trip aims to strengthen relations in the Asia-Pacific region amid rising tensions with Beijing, as Hegses faces pushing for Democrats' resignation and Republican lawmakers' independence reporting.
According to a senior journalist who accidentally added to the chat, the US defense chief revealed details of the Iran-backed Hooti rebels in Yemen, a group of top management positions on messaging platform signals.
Hegus is expected to meet his Philippine counterpart, Gilberto Theodoro, on Friday.
In response to China's growing influence, the US has strengthened its partnerships with countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including the Philippines.
Manila and Washington have deepened their defense cooperation since Marcos took office in 2022 and have begun pushing back Beijing's claims to clean up South China Sea.
In recent years, top US officials have warned that “armed attacks” on the Philippines in waterways will incite mutual defense treaties between the two countries. They expanded the sharing of military intelligence, increasing it to nine of the number of bases that US troops have access to in the archipelago.
Given the Philippines' proximity to Taiwan and its surrounding waters, Manila's cooperation is extremely important in the event of a conflict with China.
Hegseth's visit overlaps with bilateral military exercises that will expand in April to include the country's navy and air force.
Despite the pressure on the signal leak, Donald Trump defended Heggs. “Hegses does a great job, he had nothing to do with this,” the US president said when asked by AFP whether the Secretary of Defense should consider his position.
He also reiterated his claim that the classified information was not shared in violations, adding that National Security Advisor Mike Waltz was “bearing responsibility” for the error.
Waltz has added Goldberg to the group chat. This included Hegseth, Vice President, JD Vance, National Intelligence Director, and Tulsi Gabbard.
