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US defense chief to PH: Together, we must forge strong shield of deterrence for peace | ANC
On The Scene: President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday credited the Philippines and the United States’ alliance for helping in the preservation of peace and stability in the South China Sea. In his meeting with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Marcos Jr. underscored Manila and Washington’s decades-long partnership and thanked the United States for its “continuing support… in terms of the modernization of our Armed Forces.” Marcos also met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio where they discussed ways on how to strengthen supply chains through the Luzon Economic Corridor and how the traditional allies can maintain their “commitment to deterrence and reinforcing freedoms of navigation and overflight in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
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MANILA, Philippines — Although not pushing for a confrontation with anyone, the US is calling for a “strong shield of real deterrence for peace” in the Asia Pacific region, as it emphasized its commitment to its treaty ally the Philippines, which is facing an increasingly aggressive China in the South China Sea.
In remarks delivered after meeting with President Marcos at the Pentagon last Monday, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Washington views Asia-Pacific as its “priority theater,” and is prepared to achieve its goal of peace through strength.
The US is willing to work with nations that share the same goal in the region, Hegseth added.
Marcos is set to meet with US President Donald Trump today.
“We do not seek confrontation, but we are and will be ready and resolute. We’re proud to support our mutual economic vitality, including your efforts to modernize your armed forces and collective defense,” Hegseth said.
“Together, we must forge a strong shield of real deterrence for peace, ensuring the long-term security and prosperity for our nations.”
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Hegseth said the “storied” alliance between the Philippines and the US “has never been stronger or more essential than it is today.”
He stressed the two countries remain committed to the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT), which extends to armed attacks on their armed forces, aircraft or public vessels, including their coast guard anywhere in the Pacific, including the South China Sea.
The Philippines and the US signed the MDT in 1951 “to declare publicly and formally their sense of unity and their common determination to defend themselves against external armed attack.” The treaty also aims “to strengthen their present efforts for collective defense for the preservation of peace and security.”
Under the pact, the two countries, separately or jointly, shall maintain and develop their individual and collective capacity to resist armed attacks.
The Visiting Forces Agreement, which allows Filipino and American troops to conduct joint military exercises in the Philippines; and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, which grants the US access to agreed Philippine locations, are offshoots of the MDT.
Arbitral ruling anniversary
Hegseth’s meeting with Marcos, one of the key engagements in the President’s three-day official visit to the US, was held days after the ninth anniversary of the 2016 arbitral ruling that voided China’s massive claim in the South China Sea.
The landmark decision, hailed by the US and other allies of the Philippines, but dismissed as a “mere piece of paper” by China, also affirmed Manila’s sovereign rights over its 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone.
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Ignoring the arbitral ruling, China continues to resort to aggressive actions like water cannon attacks and risky maneuvers to assert its invalidated maritime claim, which covers almost entirely the entire strategic sea lane.
Marcos said the alliance between the Philippines and US has “formed a great part” in preserving peace and stability in the South China Sea.
“But I would even go as far as to say in the entire Indo-Pacific region and we are always very, very happy to continue to strengthen that relationship,” the President said.
Hegseth also noted remarkable strides in the two countries’ security alliance since his meeting with Marcos in Manila last March, his first trip to the Asia Pacific.
“Under President Trump and your leadership, Mr. President, we’ve made rapid progress enhancing real deterrence and upholding a free and open Asia Pacific through deepening our interoperability and expanding joint exercises, including the largest and most sophisticated exercise Balikatan ever conducted, as well as the Philippines’ historic participation in Talisman Saber in Australia,” the US defense chief said.
“We’re also deploying new cutting-edge missiles and… unmanned systems and revitalizing our defense industrial bases,” he added.
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The defense chief thanked Marcos for his “shared vision that includes leading with courage and determination,” saying his personal leadership is “vital to advancing a secure, prosperous and sovereign Asia Pacific.”
In response, Marcos said, “I cannot think actually of an area of cooperation where the United States and the Philippines are not involved.”
“But that, we must continue to be in discussion, we must continue to evolve that relationship as the circumstances, the context in which we operate has evolved. And I think that we have done a great deal in that regard,” Marcos said.
He also described as “extremely useful” the joint military exercises between the two countries.
“Essentially, we’ve achieved our purpose because they say they have learned a lot about how to operate together, not only with American forces, but also with, as you’ve mentioned, forces around the Asia Pacific and down to Australia and even to Canada and all of the other countries that that have been involved,” the Chief Executive said
Key to stability
At a meeting also on Monday, President Marcos and Secretary of State Marco Rubio agreed that boosting Philippine-US alliance will preserve peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region and deter China’s growing aggressiveness.
“Secretary Rubio and President Marcos underscored the importance of the ironclad United States-Philippines Alliance to maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region,” US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement.
“They reaffirmed their shared commitment to deterrence and reinforcing freedoms of navigation and overflight in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific,” the official said. — Helen Flores
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