U.S: DOD - March 28, 2025 - United States–Philippines Joint Statement on Secretary Hegseth's Inaugural Visit to the Philippines

 

View Online IMMEDIATE RELEASE United States–Philippines Joint Statement on Secretary Hegseth's Inaugural Visit to the Philippines March 28, 2025 United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth made his inaugural visit to the Philippines as part of his first trip to the Indo-Pacific region to meet with President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. and Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro, Jr. on March 27-28, 2025.  The leaders underscored the enduring strength of the U.S.-Philippines alliance and reaffirmed its importance for upholding a free and open Indo-Pacific region. Secretary Hegseth and Secretary Teodoro reiterated both countries' shared commitment to the 1951 U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) in an increasingly complex security environment. The Secretaries also reaffirmed that the MDT extends to armed attacks against either country's armed forces, aircraft, and public vessels – including those of their coast guards – anywhere in the South China Sea. They also underscored that, in addition to the MDT, the 1998 Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) are critical foundations for continued alliance coordination and interoperability. Secretary Hegseth and Secretary Teodoro agreed to take several bold steps and set a robust agenda for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and the Philippine Department of National Defense (DND) to reestablish deterrence in the Indo-Pacific region and achieve Peace through Strength. These efforts will accelerate the defense partnership and ensure that the alliance is postured to address the most consequential challenges in the Indo-Pacific region.  Key new initiatives include: Deploying more advanced U.S. capabilities in the Philippines, including the Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) and highly capable unmanned surface vessels. Exercising with the NMESIS – a mobile, ground-based anti-ship missile launcher – as part of Exercise BALIKATAN and other service-to-service activities will improve interoperability and strengthen deterrence by providing coverage of strategic sea lanes from coastal positions. Training and testing on NMESIS and unmanned surface vessels as part of realistic exercises in the Philippines will increase the interoperability and operational readiness of U.S. and Philippine forces to leverage cutting-edge military capabilities in Indo-Pacific operational environments. Conducting advanced bilateral Special Operations Forces training in the Batanes Islands. U.S. Special Operations Forces and Philippine Marines will train together on complex landing scenarios to enhance interoperability between U.S. forces and the Armed Forces of the Philippines and improve combined capability to conduct high-end operations in the Indo-Pacific region. Publishing a bilateral defense industrial cooperation vision statement. The United States and the Philippines continue to advance their alliance through closer defense industrial base cooperation. This is intended to promote more robust military and industry partnerships, build supply chain resilience, strengthen our readiness, and bolster both nations' economies. The Secretaries announced the release of a defense industrial cooperation vision statement that identifies priority areas for near-term cooperation, including potential co-production of unmanned systems and more robust logistics support. The statement includes lines of effort that the United States and the Philippines will explore to advance these priority areas, namely seeking to: reduce barriers, collaborate on new technology, and identify discrete opportunities for collaboration. Both countries intend for this vision statement to serve as a basis to advance regional security, economic security, and Indo-Pacific prosperity.  Launching a bilateral cybersecurity campaign. The DoD and DND will collaborate to reduce cyber vulnerabilities and enhance resilience across the alliance. This campaign intends to address three primary lines of effort: establishing a secure defense network, developing a capable cybersecurity workforce, and enabling advanced operational cooperation. Enhanced cyber capability and capacity will enable greater information and intelligence-sharing, improve our lethality, and facilitate increasingly advanced operational coordination.                  ABOUT   NEWS   HELP CENTER   PRESS PRODUCTS          Unsubscribe | Contact Us

Hegseth Says U.S., Philippines Agree on Plan to Reestablish Deterrence in Indo-Pacific

03/28/2025

View Online Hegseth Says U.S., Philippines Agree on Plan to Reestablish Deterrence in Indo-Pacific March 28, 2025 | By Matthew Olay During a joint press conference in Manila today, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the U.S. and the Philippines have come together to work toward reestablishing military deterrence in the Indo-Pacific region. "The United States has been fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with the Philippines since World War II. Our partnership not only continues today, but we are doubling down on that partnership, and our ironclad alliance has never been stronger," Hegseth said at the outset of the press conference.  Hegseth spent the first half of the day meeting with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and then with his counterpart, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. The result of those talks, Hegseth said, was an understanding of how to not just continue with the status quo but to "accelerate the progress in U.S.–Philippines alliance."   The four-piece plan, which Hegseth said would build upon the United States' late July 2024 commitment of $500 billion to modernize the Philippine military, includes an agreement that the United States will deploy additional advanced military capabilities to the Philippines, plans for bilateral training between both nations for high-end operations, an agreement to prioritize bilateral defense industrial cooperation, and an agreement to launch a bilateral cyber campaign. Hegseth said the U.S. intends to send additional capabilities to the Philippine military. Most notably, the Defense Department will provide the Philippines with the Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System, or NMESIS, for Exercise Balikatan this spring.  A combination of multiple proven capabilities, the NMESIS combines a lethal strike missile mounted on the chassis of a joint light tactical vehicle that can be operated remotely.  In addition to the NMESIS, Hegseth said the U.S. would also provide highly capable unmanned surface vehicles for Balikatan, the most prominent annual military exercise between the U.S. and the Philippines.   "These systems will enable U.S. forces and the Armed Forces of the Philippines to train together on using advanced capabilities to defend the Philippines' sovereignty," Hegseth said.  Regarding industrial cooperation, he said a joint statement on the topic was released earlier today that identifies multiple priority areas, including co-producing unmanned systems and increased combined logistical support.  "These initiatives will help us share burdens and promote a more comprehensive partnership; we intend for these efforts to boost both of our economies and strengthen supply chain resilience," he added. Hegseth said the agreed-upon bilateral cyber campaign would aim to reduce cyber vulnerabilities across the U.S.-Philippines alliance, as well as increase cybersecurity to allow more advanced operational cooperation.  Regarding the bilateral training for high-end operations, Hegseth said U.S. and Philippine special operations forces will train side-by-side in the Province of Batanes, approximately 100 miles north of Luzon.  Calling the steps outlined "just the beginning an incredibly fruitful alliance" between the two countries, Hegseth said the U.S. and Philippines would also work together to convince other partners and allies in the Indo-Pacific region to step up their efforts and cooperation to increase their defense capabilities and strengthen deterrence.   Hegseth also said that the U.S.–Philippines alliance "reflects strength" in the face of China's aggression in the Indo-Pacific and demonstrates a commitment to peace and security in the region.  "We do not seek war; we seek peace," Hegseth said. "But those who long for peace must prepare for war, and stand united."   ABOUT   NEWS   HELP CENTER   PRESS PRODUCTS           Unsubscribe | Contact Us

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro Hold Joint Media Availability

03/28/2025

View Online Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro Hold Joint Media Availability March 28, 2025 MODERATOR: We will now have statements from our principles be given first by Secretary Pete Hegseth, to be followed by Secretary Teodoro. Secretary Hegseth. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE PETE HEGSETH: Thank you very much. Well, good afternoon, Mr. Secretary. Thank you for an incredibly productive afternoon. We're really glad to be here in Manila with Secretary Teodoro on my first trip as the secretary of defense in the Indo Pacific. You know this, the audience knows this…the United States has been fighting shoulder to shoulder with the Philippines since World War II. Our partnership not only continues today, but we are doubling down on that partnership, and our ironclad alliance has never been stronger. This morning, I also had a chance to meet with President Marcos and Secretary Teodoro and I just had a, as I described, very productive discussion about how to not just continue, but accelerate the progress in US-Philippines Alliance. We agreed on the next steps to reestablish, and that's key, reestablish deterrence in the Indo Pacific region. These efforts build on an ongoing $500 million commitment in foreign military financing and other security assistance to support the Philippines military modernization. First, we agreed that the United States will deploy additional advanced capabilities to the Philippines. This includes using the Nemesis anti-ship missile system and highly capable unmanned surface vehicles in exercise Balikatan this April. These systems will enable U.S. forces and the Armed Forces of the Philippines to train together on using advanced capabilities to defend the Philippine’s sovereignty. Second to enhance interoperability for high-end operations, we agreed to conduct bilateral special operation forces training in the Batazen (ph) Islands. Did I get that right? SECRETARY TEODORO: Batanes… SECRETARY HEGSETH: Batanes , excuse me, islands…. special forces training together. Third Secretary Teodoro and I agreed to prioritize bilateral defense industrial cooperation, which is critical. So today, we published a joint statement outlining our priority areas for cooperation. This includes co-producing unmanned systems and increasing combined logistics support. I was just in Guam before I came here. We can talk about big systems and advanced technologies, but if you don't have logistics support, I see the folks who run militaries and run formations, you need logistic support in actual to actually operate and advance forward. These initiatives will help us share burdens and promote a more comprehensive partnership. We intend for these efforts to boost both of our economies and strengthen supply chain resilience. And finally, we agreed to launch a bilateral cyber campaign. We're going to work together to reduce cyber vulnerabilities across our alliance, and increasing cyber security will allow even more advanced operational cooperation. The challenges we face require that kind of team effort. But I'll tell you this, those aspects are just the beginning. We had our meeting this morning. We had a meeting with the president. We had a meeting in here. We had private meetings as well. I can assure you, and I can assure all those watching, this is just the beginning of what we will continue to be incredibly fruitful alliance. So together, we'll encourage our other partners and allies in the region to step up their efforts and their cooperation to increase defense capabilities and strengthen deterrence. We have already set a robust agenda for the next few years. Our staff and both of us are going to remain actively engaged. It reflects the strength, as I said, of our ironclad alliance, particularly in the face of communist China's aggression in the region. And our partnership demonstrates our commitment to peace and security in the Indo Pacific. As our president, who sends his greeting, President Donald Trump, talks about often and demonstrates, we will achieve peace through strength. We do not seek war. We seek peace, but those who long for peace must prepare for war, and we stand united, shoulder to shoulder. So Gibo, if I may, if I may, you can call me Pete anytime you want. Thank you for hosting us today and for making great progress alongside us. I look forward to look working closely with you to solidify that peace through strength. Thank you very much, sir. MODERATOR: Thank you very much. Secretary Hegseth, sir, we now invite Secretary Teodoro to give his statement. PHILIPPINE SECRETARY OF NATIONAL DEFENSE GILBERTO TEODORO: We thank the Honorable Secretary Pete Hegseth, the secretary of defense of the United States for his momentous visit to the Philippines. It is an honor for the Philippines to host Secretary Hegseth’s first visit to Asia, during his first trip to the Indo Pacific. This how important our bilateral alliance with our only treaty partner in the United States is, and we are gratified by the importance placed on the stability and enhancement of this relationship as a linchpin of securing peace and stability in the Indo Pacific. We are grateful for the enduring support of the United States, including the State Department's (inaudible) in part, in no small way, through the efforts of Secretary except and The rest of the team, for a waiver of foreign military financing for the Philippines. We believe these engagements are crucial in need to be enhanced in order for their secretary, to be a reestablishment of effective deterrence against unwanted and maligned influences that affect the stability, not only of the Indo Pacific, but of the whole world. And as Secretary Hegseth said, we are going to work very closely, not only with our treaty ally, but with other likeminded partners in reestablishing deterrence. This will mean increase inter operational activities, joint exercises, realistic training in a myriad of scenarios to mirror what may be possible in the future, God forbid, however, we must be prepared to answer and to meet and even to deter any possibility in the future for our mutual defense and the defense of freedom and international law. During our discussions we enhance, we will discuss the enhancement of the quality of Philippine investments in strategic basing, in capability upgrades in the skill sets of our fighting men, women and our civilian personnel to complement the comprehensive archipelagic defense concept, which has an in its underpinnings, not only the Philippine Constitution, but international law. The deployment of the Nemesis and other unmanned surface vehicles will hasten introduction of these technologies into the vista of the Philippine Armed Forces, and will train our troops to train for higher technological capabilities that we need for effective deterrence in the future. The Philippines is prepared, and is, in fact, taking a more active role in rallying our other allies and likeminded nations to resist any attempt to change international law by a key essence or a faux complete in the South China Sea, the number of status of visiting forces agreements that we are entering into is for the rules based international order is proof of this. Because of the increased inter-operational activities, we expect increased rotational presence of likeminded and allied troops in the Philippines. With our strategic basic initiative, we will also expect a high, heightened tempo of the Philippine Armed Force for external and territorial defense to put in our share of deterrence. And we will also expect the hastening of our capability upgrades in our logistical support facilities to support deterrence. And deterrence comes also with synergy with humanitarian assistance and disaster response, because natural calamities hit us the hardest at this time, particularly in the Philippines, which is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world. We will enhance our current locations, and we will make improvements. Mind you, these are Philippine bases, of which we have to invest in. We will enhance them for logistical support. We have talked about establishing a sustainable, effective and business case-focused defense industrial base, which suits our national interests and advances our economic defense and other cooperative resilience activities which are of benefit, not only to each one's economy, but on partnerships and synergies, so that there can be a multiplier effect on the enhancements to different sectors of our societies, of both our peoples. As we know, the relationship between the Philippines and the United States is not unipolar. This multi-polar and the most important thing are people to people exchanges, but also commerce, defense, education, language and the NBA. This initiative will support the self-reliance defense program of the Philippines and other initiatives of the United States Government. On cyber security cooperation, as rightly said by Secretary Hegseth, he said, we need to work hand in hand to develop resilience. Resilience and security of our cyber security network. When we work in partnerships, we need to keep those flows of information secure. We need to keep our own operation secure, and we need to tap each other's expertise, best practices and hardware in order to secure our cyber systems. And this is not a one stop deal. It goes on and on as threats evolve. So therefore, we are firming up our shop for IT and for cyber to work hand in hand with our treaty partner for mutual resilience and enhancements. In closing, I would like to categorically state that what is at stake in our unilateral and bilateral activities is not merely the security of the United States or of the Philippines. We are facing a common threat, which now is the overreach of the Communist Party of China. So the Indo Pacific, the rule of international law, freedom of navigation and freedom individual personal freedoms are what are at stake here. Therefore, as President Marcos has stated, U.S. leadership is essential to the continuing peace and stability of the Indo Pacific. We look forward to the outcomes on the working levels of what we have agreed to and discussed here during our meeting, especially as we mark this year, the 80th anniversary of…next Year, rather of Philippine us ties in 2026. Once again, we are very thankful for the visit of Secretary Pete, who has not only built rapport with the Department of National Defense, but with the PT session with our troops, he has truly made his mark. Thank you for your visit secretary. MODERATOR: Thank you very much, Secretary Teodoro, sir. We will now begin our question and answer portion. I now invite our co-moderator this afternoon, Mr. Sean Parnell, the DOD spokesperson, to call the name of the first journalist. CHIEF PENTAGON SPOKESMAN SEAN PARNELL: Well, thank you, Bill from the Washington Times. Q: Bill Gertz with the Washington Times, China is waging aggressive gray zone warfare in the South China Sea. Will the Trump Administration Order the Navy’s Seventh Fleet, to provide a greater, enduring naval presence in the South China Sea, considering the Biden administration failed to provide visible support there to a key US ally in the Philippines SECRETARY HEGSETH: Bill, it's a great question. You're right. What we're dealing with right now is many years of deferred maintenance, of weakness that we need to reestablish strength and deterrence in multiple places around the globe, but pertinently today for this region, there was a lot of talk about shifting. A lot of talk about emphasis on the Indo Pacific, a lot of talk about allies. What the Trump administration will do is deliver, is truly prioritize and shift this region of the world in a way that is unprecedented, to match the threats of the future. With the recognition that for the 21st century to be a free century, America needs to stand alongside our allies and partners shoulder to shoulder. Today, it's the Philippines. Tomorrow, it's Japan. It will be Australia and South Korea and other nations in this part of the world, where together, by, with and through we will establish the deterrence necessary to prevent war. You mentioned the Seventh Fleet. It's not my job to determine where the Seventh Fleet goes. I defer to Admiral Paparo and his war plans. Real war plans. Admiral Paparo understands the situation, understands the geographic significance, understands the urgency, and is prepared to work with those in the region to ensure we are leaning forward in our posture. Not waiting for events to develop, not retrograding to places further from the front, but deploying capabilities forward, posturing and creating dynamics and strategic dilemmas for the Communist Chinese that help them reconsider whether or not violence or action is something they want to undertake. Again, President Trump is a peacemaker. President Trump seeks peace. That's my message here as well. But in order to bring that peace, we will be strong. Our allies will know we stand with them. Our admirals are prepared and they will be properly equipped. We're rebuilding our military under President Trump, reviving that warrior ethos across the force. You know, I look out at the men and women of our military, many of which I did PT with this morning, younger and more fit than their secretary. And I, and I see mechanics, I see special operators, I see lawyers, I see fuelers. I see pilots. I see sailors, all with different jobs. But what I ultimately see are warriors in the profession of arms here, deployed forward with our allies, postured and prepared to deter war. So Admiral Paparo is exactly where we need him to be, with contingencies laid in place, and we will be positioned to stand with our partners, hopefully to prevent any conflict at all. MODERATOR: We now call on Mr. Chad Williams of Agence France-Presse to ask his question. Q: Thank you. This is for Secretary Hegseth. You gave a speech last month at a Pentagon town hall where you specifically talked in length about accountability. And I'm wondering, including even in the smallest things you said. And I'm wondering if now, as we have the Senate Armed Forces Committee (sic) asking for a report into the Signal controversy, if you feel as the leader of the Defense Department, you have any level of responsibility for what Marco Rubio and some other people have called a mistake. SECRETARY HEGSETH: Thanks for the question. I'm responsible for ensuring that our department is prepared and ready to deter and defeat our enemies. And I'm quite proud, quite proud of what our forces in CENTCOM did on that initial series of very effective and devastating strikes and the ongoing campaign that we are undertaking, because that is, again, on the backs of four years of deferred maintenance and failure and weakness of the Biden administration. We are reestablishing deterrence. And as the leader of that department, my job is to advise and work alongside the president and then work with my fellow cabinet members to ensure that we're operationalizing in every way possible, reestablishing that deterrence. So we will ensure the freedom of navigation returns to that part of the world, just as pertinent to our conversation today, freedom of navigation is something the Philippines experiences in the South China Sea or the West Philippine Sea. It's something we take very seriously. MR. PARNELL: So we'll go with Kazu next. Q: Thank you so much for having us today. So I have a question for Secretary Hegseth. How do you evaluate lateral cooperation between the U.S., the Philippines and Japan, in deterring China, and do you intend to take the leadership of it? SECRETARY HEGSETH: Well, thank you for the question. I'd love to have the secretary answer as well. As he mentioned, this is not just country to country, bilateral cooperation. This is trilateral. It's multilateral. The broader our alliance, the better. The more security cooperation, the better. The more interoperability, the better. The more contingencies, the better. Again, the more strategic dilemmas for our adversaries, the better. And so we're here in the Philippines to strengthen that partnership. We'll be in Japan to do the same. I believe, as we speak, all three countries are sailing together right now in the region. So we have that kind of security cooperation happening right now with our navies at sea, sending those signals of cooperation. And I know President Trump values greatly the ability to bring together an alliance, as opposed to just unilateral action, which is never as effective. But I would defer to the Secretary's thoughts as well SECRETARY TEODORO: Well, thank you very much, Secretary Hegseth. The trilateral cooperation has been going at a very fast pace. As a matter of fact, we also, aside from the multilateral cooperative activity right now ongoing, Japan has just announced its operation…its inauguration of the joint operational command under General Nagumo, which is at the operational level, a result of our trilateral partnership. A lot of activities are ongoing, and we are merging and meshing these capabilities together, together with Australia at a speed which we have not seen at a long, long in a long, long time. MODERATOR: For the last question, we'll have JP Soriano of GMA News. Secretary Teodoro, Secretary Hegseth, welcome to Manila. Can you confirm this current status and estimated arrival date for the deployment of the mid-range capability Typhon missile from the INDO PACOM to the Philippines? And since Secretary Teodoro mentioned EDCA (Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement), Secretary Hegseth, how many more EDCA sites should Manila consider establishing in the Philippines, and how soon could that expansion take place? Additionally and last question, how do you respond to China's warning regarding military cooperation with Manila, particularly their assertion to the Philippine government that, and I quote, Chinese movement, nothing good could come from the opening the door or from opening the door to a predator. Thank you. SECRETARY TEODORO: On the EDCA sites, as I stated earlier that they will remain as such, an enhanced development will be taken their own. On the multi, medium range capabilities. We will neither confirm nor deny any deployments. We will train as we see fit, and the Philippine Armed Forces will equip as it sees fit. And lastly, the let the facts speak for themselves. I mean, Where did the code come from on the predator thing? Cross talk… SECRETARY TEODORO: Chinese MOFA, I think their world view is really, really quite limited. That's why the robotic quality of their statements. I think that characterizing people who do not appropriate parts of the South China Sea as their own, as they do, the 10 Dash Line speaks loudly of themselves rather than others. And there was a collateral to that. I believe that the Philippines should not be a mouthpiece of any other country. You know, that's once again, the product of a limited world view of a closed society. We don't practice propaganda in this country. We practice free speech and democracy. So the Philippines is not a mouthpiece, unlike they themselves, who are mouthpieces of Xi Jinping. You know the problem is, you will hear me. The United States will hear me. Filipinos will hear me, but 1 billion or more Chinese won't get to hear what I said. SECRETARY HEGSETH: Powerful words. I will just add two things. There's a long line of countries in past who have attempted to test U.S. resolve. We are resolved at this time, at this moment, to work with our partners, to reestablish the warrior ethos, to rebuild our military, and reestablish deterrence. And come alongside our allies and partners, first and foremost, in this region, and then I also, on behalf of the American people, want to thank the people of the Philippines. Want to thank you for your friendship. Want to thank you for your partnership. Want to thank you for your love of our country and ours of yours. It is a long, enduring friendship and partnership, so much so that myself and my team will be heading to the U.S. military cemetery here in the Philippines later on today. Which shame on me. I knew we there was a large one here. I didn't know it was the largest outside of the United States, U.S. service member graveyard in the world. What a demonstration of the sacrifice America has been willing to make over decades, the resolve that generations of Americans have been willing to show for the cause of freedom. We don't seek intervention. President Trump has made it clear we don't seek war. We don't seek to nation build. We don't seek to use chess pieces and move them around the board. All we seek is peace. All we seek is freedom and cooperation and mutual benefit, and we find that in friends like our friends in the Philippines. But do not mistake our friendship. Do not mistake our belief in peace and our desire for peace, for a lack of resolve. Too many have, and America still stands strong today and will continue into the future. So I want to thank you all. MODERATOR: Thank you very much, sirs. That ends our press conference.