Hegseth vows to beef up Manila’s deterrence capability vs. China threat

The Philippines and the United States must stand “shoulder to shoulder” in the face of the threat represented by China, visiting US defense chief Pete Hegseth said during his courtesy call on President Ferdinand Marcos Friday.

The meeting at Malacanang Palace came as Hegseth opened a tour of Pacific allies and followed months of confrontations between Philippines and China vessels in the West Philippine Sea.

“Deterrence is necessary around the world, but specifically in this region, in your country, considering the threats from the Communist Chinese,” Hegseth said.

Hegseth said the US will deploy “advanced capabilities” in the Philippines for this year’s Balikatan Exercises, including a Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) and highly capable unmanned surface vessels.

“Friends need to stand shoulder to shoulder to deter conflict to ensure that there’s free navigation. Whether you call it the South China Sea or the West Philippine Sea, we recognize that your country has stood very firm in that location and in defense of your nation,” Hegseth said.

“Peace through strength is a very real thing,” he added.

Hegseth’s Manila visit will be followed by trips to Tokyo and World War II battleground Iwo Jima.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., for his part, said Hegseth’s visit was a strong signal of the two countries’ commitment to maintaining peace in the Indo-Pacific region.

“Your visit to the region, and especially the fact that you have come to the Philippines as your first stop, sends a very strong message of the commitment of both our countries to continue to work together,” Mr. Marcos said.

“You are our only treaty partner and continue to be the supporter for peace in this part of the world…We have always understood the principle that the greatest force for peace in this part of the world would be the United States. And that is why it is very important,” the President added.

Hegseth responded by emphasizing Washington’s dedication to its alliance with Manila.

“I had a chance to speak just a few minutes ago to our president, President [Donald] Trump, who sends his regards to you as well, thinks very fondly of this great country, is very committed to the alliance that we have, to the friendship that we have, the cooperation that we have,” Hegseth said.

“And he and I both want to express the ironclad commitment we have to the mutual defense treaty and to the partnership, economically, militarily, which our staffs have worked on diligently for weeks and weeks and months,” he added.

The 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty, the longest-running defense pact, aims to step up the defense and security cooperation between Philippine and US troops.

In a separate press conference with Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., Hegseth said both countries would accelerate upgrades to their capabilities and logistical support infrastructure to strengthen deterrence efforts.

“We can talk about big systems and advanced technologies. But if you don’t have logistics support, I see the folks who run militaries and run formations, you need logistics support to actually operate and advance forward,” Hegseth said.

“We will enhance our current EDCA locations and we will make improvements. Mind you, these are Philippine bases of which we have to invest in. We will enhance them for logistical support…We have talked about establishing a sustainable, effective, and business case-focused defense industrial base which suits our national interests and advances our economic, defense, and other cooperative resilience activities,” Teodoro added.

Both Defense chiefs rejected the statement of Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun cautioned the Philippines against serving foreign agendas, likening it to “opening the door to a predator.”

“I think that characterizing people who do not appropriate parts of the South China Sea as their own, as they do the 10-dash line, speaks loudly of themselves rather than others. That’s once again a product of a limited world view of a closed society. We don’t practice propaganda in this country. We practice free speech and democracy. So the Philippines is not a mouthpiece, unlike they themselves who are mouthpieces of the Xi Jinping thought,” Teodoro said.

“We don’t seek intervention. [President Donald Trump] has made it clear we don’t seek war, we don’t seek to nation-build, we don’t seek to use chess pieces, and move them around the board,” Hegseth said.

“All we seek is peace. All we seek is freedom and cooperation and mutual benefit, and we find that in friends like our friends in the Philippines. But do not mistake our friendship. Do not mistake our belief in peace and our desire for peace for a lack of resolve. Too many have, and America still stands strong today and will continue to be,” the US Defense chief added.

House Speaker Martin Romualdez, for his part, said Hegseth’s visit was a reaffirmation of the “deep, historic, and forward-looking alliance” between the two countries.

“The high-level discussions between Secretary Hegseth and Philippine officials reflect a unified vision: to fortify our defense cooperation and preserve the principles of freedom of navigation and respect for international norms,” Romualdez said. With AFP