Hegseth to Fly to the Philippines and Japan in First Visit to Asian Treaty Allies at Odds with China

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth walks back to the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 21 March 2025. (EPA)
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth walks back to the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 21 March 2025. (EPA)
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Hegseth to Fly to the Philippines and Japan in First Visit to Asian Treaty Allies at Odds with China

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth walks back to the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 21 March 2025. (EPA)
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth walks back to the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 21 March 2025. (EPA)

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is scheduled to visit the Philippines, the first stop in his first trip to Asia 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 US Jose Manuel Romualdez told The Associated Press.

In the US, chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell later said Hegseth will visit Hawaii to meet civilian and military leaders in the Indo-Pacific Command then tour US military facilities in Guam and receive briefings on capabilities before flying to the Philippines and Japan.

Hegseth would "advance security objectives with Philippine leaders and meet with US and Philippine forces. In Japan, he would participate in a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima and meet with Japanese leaders and US military forces, Parnell said and added without elaborating that "as always, the secretary looks forward to some great PT (physical training) with the troops!"

"These engagements will drive ongoing efforts to strengthen our alliances and partnerships toward our shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific," he said. The trip "comes as the United States builds on unprecedented cooperation with like-minded countries to strengthen regional security."

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

"It’s a strong message to China on solid bilateral relations" between the US 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 US 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 US 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.

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, that in recent years have been held near the South China Sea and the sea border between the Philippines and Taiwan.

Taiwan is the self-governing island that China claims as its own territory and which it has been threatening to annex by force.



Pakistan Says It Is Committed to Truce with India, Vows Response to Aggression 

A boy looks out of his damaged house from Pakistani artillery shelling upon his return to Kotmaira village along the Line of Control in Akhnoor Sector, India, Tuesday, May 13, 2025.(AP)
A boy looks out of his damaged house from Pakistani artillery shelling upon his return to Kotmaira village along the Line of Control in Akhnoor Sector, India, Tuesday, May 13, 2025.(AP)
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Pakistan Says It Is Committed to Truce with India, Vows Response to Aggression 

A boy looks out of his damaged house from Pakistani artillery shelling upon his return to Kotmaira village along the Line of Control in Akhnoor Sector, India, Tuesday, May 13, 2025.(AP)
A boy looks out of his damaged house from Pakistani artillery shelling upon his return to Kotmaira village along the Line of Control in Akhnoor Sector, India, Tuesday, May 13, 2025.(AP)

Pakistan said on Tuesday it remained committed to a truce with India agreed after four days of intense fighting last week, but vowed to respond with full resolve to any future aggression by New Delhi.

The nuclear-armed neighbors halted their worst fighting in nearly three decades after agreeing to a ceasefire on Saturday, following diplomacy and pressure from the United States.

Tuesday's comments from Islamabad came in response to a speech by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi the previous day that warned Pakistan New Delhi would target "terrorist hideouts" across the border again if there were new attacks on India, without being deterred by "nuclear blackmail".

Pakistan's foreign ministry said Islamabad categorically rejected Modi's "provocative and inflammatory assertions" in the speech.

"At a time when international efforts are being made for regional peace and stability, this statement represents a dangerous escalation," it said in a statement.

"Pakistan remains committed to the recent ceasefire understanding and taking necessary steps towards de-escalation and regional stability," it said, promising full resolve in meeting any future aggression by its neighbor.

The two sides fired missiles and drones targeting each other's military installations after India said it struck "terrorist infrastructure" sites in Pakistan and Pakistani Kashmir on Wednesday in retaliation for an attack in Indian Kashmir that killed 26 Hindu tourists.

Pakistan, which said the targets were all civilian, denies Indian accusations that it was behind the attack in the Himalayan region. Its military has said 40 civilians and 11 of its armed forces were killed in the attack.

India said at least five of its military personnel and 16 civilians died.

India said on Tuesday it had declared an official of the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi persona non grata "for indulging in activities not in keeping with his official status".

Pakistan also declared a staff member at the Indian High Commission in Islamabad persona non grata "for engaging in activities incompatible with his privileged status".

Each was given 24 hours to leave the country.

Both countries have already reduced the strength of their embassies after relations nosedived after the April 22 attack.

MODI REPEATS WARNING

Hindu-majority India and Muslim Pakistan each rule part of Kashmir, but both claim it in full, having fought two of their three wars since independence in 1947 over it, along with several limited flare-ups, particularly in 1999 and 2019.

Earlier on Tuesday, Modi visited the Adampur air base near the border and repeated his warning to Pakistan in remarks to Indian Air Force personnel, with whom he posed for photographs.

"We will not differentiate between the government sponsoring terrorism and the masterminds of terrorism," Modi said, referring to India's response in the event of another attack.

"We will enter their dens and hit them without giving them an opportunity to survive."

Separately, the Indian foreign ministry said the issue of trade did not come up in talks with Washington regarding the tension with Pakistan.

The understanding to stop the fighting was reached directly with Islamabad after Pakistan's military operations chief called his Indian counterpart and made the proposal, it added.

Pakistan has said it called India in response to a call from New Delhi on May 7, which the Indian military immediately followed its strikes on the "terrorist infrastructure" in Pakistan.

On Monday, US President Donald Trump said the leaders of India and Pakistan were "unwavering", and the United States had "helped a lot" to secure the ceasefire, adding that trade was a "big reason" why the countries stopped fighting.

India has said the military operations chiefs of both nations spoke by telephone on Monday, reiterating their commitment to halt firing and consider steps to reduce troops on the border.

Pakistan has not provided details of the call.