US defense chief says stronger deterrence needed against China in
disputed sea
[March 28, 2025]
By JIM GOMEZ
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said
Friday that the Trump administration would boost military ties with the
Philippines to strengthen deterrence against “threats from the communist
Chinese” and ensure freedom of navigation in the disputed South China
Sea.
Hegseth spoke during a meeting with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in
the Philippines, his first stop in his first trip to Asia to reaffirm
Washington’s “ironclad” commitment to the region under Trump. Ahead of
the visit, China called the United States a “predator” and an unreliable
ally.
Trump’s “America First” foreign policy thrust has triggered concerns in
Asia about the scale and depth of U.S. commitment to the region.
Hegseth's decision to make the Philippines his first stop in Asia,
followed by Japan — both U.S. treaty allies facing territorial disputes
with China — was the strongest assurance yet by the U.S. under Trump to
maintain a security presence in the region.
“Deterrence is necessary around the world but specifically in this
region, in your country, considering the threats from the communist
Chinese,” Hegseth told Marcos. “Friends need to stand shoulder to
shoulder to deter conflict, to ensure that there is free navigation
whether you call it the South China Sea or the West Philippine Sea.”
"Peace through strength is a very real thing,” Hegseth said. He praised
the Philippines for standing “very firm” to defend its interests in the
contested waters.
China claims virtually the entire South China Sea, a major security and
global trade route. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and
Taiwan also have overlapping claims to the resource-rich and busy
waters, but confrontations have spiked between Chinese and Philippine
coast guard and naval forces in the last two years.
Chinese forces have used powerful water cannons and dangerous maneuvers
in the high seas to block what Beijing said were encroachments by
Philippine ships into China's waters. Chinese military aircraft have
also approached Philippine patrol planes at alarmingly close distance to
drive them away from the Scarborough Shoal, a hotly disputed fishing
atoll in the disputed waterway.
Under the previous Biden administration, the U.S. has repeatedly warned
that it is obligated to help defend the Philippines if Filipino forces,
ships and aircraft come under an armed attack in the Pacific, including
in the South China Sea.
Hegseth echoed that pledge by expressing “the ironclad commitment” of
Trump and him “to the Mutual Defense Treaty and to the partnership."
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U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Armed Forces of the
Philippines Chief of Staff General Romeo Brawner shake hands upon
Hegseth's arrival at the Armed Forces of the Philippines
Headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, Philippines, Friday,
March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerard Carreon)
Marcos told the U.S. defense chief that by visiting the Philippines
first in Asia he “sends a very strong message of the commitment of
both our countries to continue to work together to maintain the
peace in the Indo-Pacific region, within the South China Sea."
"We have always understood the principle that the greatest force for
peace in this part of the world would be the United States,” Marcos
said.
Ahead of Hegseth’s visit, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson Wu
Qian said China opposes “interference from outside countries” in the
South China Sea.
"U.S.-Philippines military cooperation must not harm the security
interests of other countries or undermine regional peace and
stability,” he said Thursday in a monthly news conference.
He added without elaborating that the United States has “an
astonishing record of breaking its promises and abandoning its
allies” throughout its history.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun separately warned
the Philippines in a news conference on Tuesday “that nothing good
could come out of opening the door to a predator. Those who
willingly serve as chess pieces will be deserted in the end."
Hegseth’s visit to the Philippines comes a month before the longtime
treaty allies hold the “Balikatan,” Tagalog for shoulder to
shoulder, their largest annual combat exercises that include
live-fire drills. Tn recent years, the exercises have been held near
the South China Sea and the sea border between the Philippines and
Taiwan.
The defense secretary projected composure and camaraderie, as he's
receiving harsh criticism for texting attack plans to a Signal group
that included top-level U.S. security officials and the
editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine.
Clad in a sweatshirt and shorts, he joined American and Filipino
forces in physical training, including push-ups, in a gym. He shook
hands and posed smiling with military personnel while they flashed
the thumbs-up in pictures posted by the U.S. Embassy on X.
___
Associated Press journalist Ken Moritsugu in Beijing contributed to
this report.
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