US Secretary of Protection Pete Hegseth welcomes President of the Philippines Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos (L) throughout an honor cordon welcoming ceremony on the Pentagon in Washington, DC on July 21, 2025. (Photograph by SAUL LOEB / AFP)
WASHINGTON, United States — High US officers promised President Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines on Monday that Washington will defend its longtime ally and ramp up navy sources aimed toward deterring an assertive China.
Marcos will meet Tuesday with President Donald Trump, who has rattled many European allies by demanding they pay extra to be protected as a part of NATO.
READ: Marcos now in US for talks with Trump on protection, commerce
Each Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who’ve each recognized China as a high risk, said their dedication to the seven-decade treaty with the Philippines as they held separate conferences with Marcos on Monday.
“Collectively we stay dedicated to the Mutual Protection Treaty. And this pact extends to armed assaults on our armed forces, plane or public vessels, together with our Coast Guard wherever within the Pacific, together with the South China Sea,” Hegseth informed Marcos.
Noting rising US protection spending, Hegseth mentioned that the 2 international locations “should forge a powerful protect of actual deterrence for peace, making certain the long-term safety and prosperity for our nations.”
“We don’t search confrontation, however we’re and can be prepared and resolute,” Hegseth mentioned.
READ: Marcos purpose: A commerce deal distinctive to US-PH ties
Marcos welcomed US assist, noting the “altering political geopolitical forces and the political developments round our a part of the world.”
China and the Philippines have engaged in a sequence of confrontations within the contested waters, which Beijing claims nearly totally, regardless of a world ruling that the assertion has no authorized foundation.
Since his election in 2022, Marcos has boosted cooperation between the previous US colony and the US, each below Trump and his predecessor Joe Biden.
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