Pentagon chief to visit Philippines for security talks, envoy says

MANILA, Philippines — U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is scheduled to visit the Philippines, the first stop on his first trip to the Indo-Pacific next week, for talks that will include increasing deterrence against aggression in the disputed South China Sea, a Philippine official said Friday.

Hegseth will be in Manila on March 28-29 to meet his Philippine counterpart, Gilberto Teodoro, and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Talks will touch on increasingly assertive actions by Beijing in the South China Sea and “more significant support” to Philippine security forces by the Trump administration, Philippine Ambassador to the U.S. Jose Manuel Romualdez told The Associated Press.

Trump’s “America First” foreign policy thrust has triggered concerns about the scale and depth of U.S. commitment to the region under his new term.

“It’s a strong message to China on solid bilateral relations” between the U.S. and the Philippines,” Romualdez said of Hegseth’s upcoming visit.

China claims virtually the entire South China Sea , a major security and global trade route. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also lay overlapping claims to the resource-rich and busy waters, but confrontations have particularly spiked between Chinese and Philippine coast guard and naval forces in the last two years.

In his first telephone talk with Teodoro last month, Hegseth “reaffirmed the ironclad U.S. commitment to the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty and its importance for maintaining a secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” according to a readout provided by Pentagon spokesperson John Ullyot after the Feb. 5 call.

“The leaders discussed the importance of reestablishing deterrence in the South China Sea, including by working with allies and partners,” Ullyot said. “They also discussed enhancing the capability and capacity of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.”

After major territorial faceoffs between Chinese and Philippine forces in the disputed waters, the previous Biden administration had repeatedly warned that the U.S. is obligated to help defend the Philippines under the treaty if Filipino forces, ships and aircraft come under an armed attack in the Pacific, including in the South China Sea.

Beijing has warned Washington, in return, to stay out of what it calls a purely Asian dispute and stop actions that endanger regional harmony and stability.

菲律宾马尼拉——一位菲律宾官员周五表示，美国国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯计划下周访问菲律宾，这将是他首次访问印太地区的第一站。此次访问的会谈将包括加强对有争议的南海地区侵略行为的威慑。

赫格塞斯将于 3 月 28 日至 29 日访问马尼拉，会见菲律宾外长吉尔伯托·特奥多罗和总统费迪南德·马科斯。菲律宾驻美国大使何塞·曼努埃尔·罗穆亚尔德斯告诉美联社，会谈将涉及北京在南海日益强硬的行动以及特朗普政府对菲律宾安全部队的“更强有力的支持”。

特朗普的“美国优先”外交政策引发了人们对他新任期内美国对该地区承诺的规模和深度的担忧。

罗穆亚尔德斯在谈到赫格塞斯即将进行的访问时说：“这是向中国发出的一个强有力的信号，表明美菲两国双边关系稳固。”

中国声称对几乎整个南海拥有主权，而南海是重要的安全和全球贸易通道。菲律宾、越南、马来西亚、文莱和台湾也对这片资源丰富且繁忙的海域提出主权声索，但近两年来，中国和菲律宾海警及海军之间的冲突尤为频繁。

据五角大楼发言人约翰·乌利奥特在 2 月 5 日通话后提供的一份声明称，赫格塞斯在上个月与特奥多罗的首次电话交谈中“重申了美国对 1951 年共同防御条约的坚定承诺，以及该条约对于维护印太地区安全和繁荣的重要性”。

乌利奥特说：“两国领导人讨论了在南海重建威慑的重要性，包括与盟友和伙伴合作。他们还讨论了提升菲律宾武装部队的能力和实力。”

在中菲两国军队于争议水域发生重大领土对峙之后，拜登政府曾多次警告，如果菲律宾军队、舰船​​和飞机在太平洋地区（包括南海）遭到武装攻击，美国有义务根据条约帮助保卫菲律宾。

北京方面则警告华盛顿不要介入其所谓的纯粹亚洲争端，并停止危害地区和谐与稳定的行动。