US EditionCommentary: US defence chief’s Asia tour won’t fix American credibility crisis
- On Friday, March 28, 2025, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will meet with Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto "Gibo" Teodoro in Manila as part of a tour to bolster ties with Pacific allies amid rising tensions with China.
- The meeting occurs as the United States bolsters alliances in the Asia-Pacific region in response to China's growing influence and its expansive claims in the South China Sea, which an international ruling states has no merit, with Manila and Washington having deepened their defense cooperation since President Ferdinand Marcos took office in 2022.
- Deepening defense cooperation includes expanded sharing of military intelligence, increasing the number of bases U.S. Troops have access to in the Philippines to nine, and expanding bilateral military exercises next month to include navies and air forces, underscoring the U.S. Commitment to the Philippines, which has been exempted from recent funding reductions and will receive $500 million.
- Philippine Ambassador to the U.S. Jose Manuel Romualdez stated that discussions with Hegseth will center around new policies from President Donald Trump that directly influence the enhancement of military relations, with the current focus being on "deterrence through strength," and China has expressed concerns that defense agreements between the Philippines and the U.S. Should not target other countries or threaten their interests, according to Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun.
- Hegseth's visit, which includes a meeting with President Marcos, comes amid a scandal over leaked plans for military strikes, with Democratic lawmakers calling for Hegseth's resignation after he revealed details of strikes on Iran-backed Huthi rebels in Yemen via the messaging platform Signal, although President Trump has defended Hegseth, calling the situation a "witch hunt" and insisting that no classified information was shared, while National Security Advisor Mike Waltz "took responsibility" for the error.
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61 Articles
Channel News Asia
einnews.comCommentary: US defence chief’s Asia tour won’t fix American credibility crisis
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth can choose to uphold Washington’s commitment to the Indo-Pacific or let China play a more important role, says Karishma Vaswani for Bloomberg Opinion.
phelpscountyfocus.com
US defence chief visits Philippines dogged by scandal at home
US defence chief Pete Hegseth will meet his Philippine counterpart in Manila on Friday, part of a tour of Pacific allies that risks being overshadowed by a mounting scandal over leaked plans for military strikes.
US Defense chief Pete Hegseth arrives in PH
MANILA, Philippines — United States (US) Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has arrived in the Philippines, according to the US Embassy in Manila. The embassy shared photos of Hegseth’s arrival in the country on Thursday evening. “US Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is in the Philippines as the United States builds on unprecedented cooperation with
Palace: China must heed own call for peace
CHINA should heed its own call and abide by international law if it really wants peace in the Indo-Pacific region, Malacañang said on Thursday. Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro issued the statement in response to Beijing's warning that the Philippine government, ahead of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s meeting with United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, must "stop serving as other countries' mouthpiece" …
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