National Politics

Hegseth tells Philippines the Trump administration will ramp up deterrence against China threat

Hegseth blamed the Biden administration for insufficient actions that emboldened aggressors over the years. He said the military was being rebuilt under Trump and re-establishing its “warrior ethos” in the region.

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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)
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“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,” he told Marcos.

The U.S. was not gearing up for war, Hegseth said — while underscoring that peace would be won “through strength.”

The Philippines was the first stop in Hegseth’s first trip to Asia. He is due to travel next to Japan, another staunch U.S. ally.

Ahead of his visit to the region, China called the United States a “predator” and an unreliable ally.

Hegseth said the Trump administration would commit more security assistance to the Philippines in addition to a $500 million fund to help the Philippine military modernize. The U.S. funding was first announced by the previous Biden administration.

US-Philippine joint war games

The U.S. would also deploy an anti-ship missile system called the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System as well as unmanned sea vessels for largescale military exercises involving thousands of American and Filipino forces next month in the Philippines, Hegseth said.

That would enable the allied forces to train together to defend Philippine sovereignty, he said.

Additionally, the allied forces agreed to stage special operations forces training in Batanes province, a cluster of islands in the northernmost tip of the Philippine archipelago across a sea border from Taiwan, he said.

Taiwan is the self-ruled island that China regards as a province and has threatened to annex, by force if necessary.

China claims texting attack plans t o a Signal group that included top-level U.S. security officials and the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine, projected composure and camaraderie while in Manila.

Clad in a sweatshirt and shorts, he joined American and Filipino forces in physical training, including push-ups, in a gym after arriving Thursday in Manila.

The U.S. defense chief 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 journalists Joeal Calupitan Manila, Ken Moritsugu in Beijing and Christopher Bodeen in Taipei contributed to this report.

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