Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth pledged anti-ship missile deployments, increased military training and defense industrial base cooperation to the Philippines under steps to “re-establish” deterrence in the Indo-Pacific alongside Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilbert Teodoro today in Manila.
“We agreed on the next steps to re-establish – and that’s key – re-establish deterrence in the Indo-Pacific region,” Hegseth announced.
Hegseth touched down in Manila on Thursday in his first trip to a foreign partner in the region. This visit preceded other U.S. treaty allies in Asia, such as Japan, South Korea and Australia, a fact that Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and other officials noted as a demonstration of Washington’s commitment to Manila.
“Your visit to the region, and especially the fact that you’ve come to the Philippines as your first stop, is a very strong indication and sends a very strong message to the commitment of both our countries to continue to work together to maintain the peace in the Indo-Pacific region within in the South China Sea,” Marcos said to Hegseth during a meeting at Malacañang Palace.
“We are gratified by the importance placed on the stability and enhancement of this relationship as a lynchpin of securing peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific,” said Teodoro.
The American and Philippine defense secretaries announced the deployment of the Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System, a Naval Strike Missile-equipped unmanned ground vehicle that can hit targets up to 100 nautical miles away, during April’s Balikatan exercise.
The 3rd MLR, which was awaiting approval from the Philippine government to send NMESIS to the Philippines, trained with the anti-ship missile system during the regiment’s predeployment training activity last month. This new capability joined the unit’s medium-range missile battery in December.
NMESIS’s appearance at Balikatan builds upon last year’s Typhon missile deployment to the Northern Philippines, which sparked Chinese condemnation. Beijing’s reaction to ground-based missile systems was noted by Manila, which has permitted Washington to keep the system on Philippine soil since last April.
Balikatan 2025 is set to be one of the most intensive iterations of the 40-year-long exercise series to date and will host a “Full Battle simulation” across the Philippine archipelago. 15-16,000 participants from the Philippines, Australia, Japan and the U.S. will train in the Philippines and the South China Sea.
Hegseth said U.S. forces will also deploy unspecified “highly-capable unmanned surface vehicles” for the drills. An American task force based in Palawan, a Philippine province facing the South China Sea, assisted Philippine Navy personnel in unmanned surface vessel training on American-made Maritime Tactical Systems T-12 MANTAS and Devil Ray T-38 drones.
Bilateral special forces training in Batanes, a Philippine island group between Luzon and Taiwan, was also announced as the scene of increased defense cooperation amid tensions in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait. American and Philippine troops will return to practice defending the strategically located islands in this year’s Balikatan exercise.
The two countries also released a joint vision statement on defense industrial base cooperation. Priority areas included co-production in unmanned systems, munitions, minerals, aviation and ship maintenance and repair.
“Projects under this framework intend to seek to support the Philippines as it develops more advanced defense capabilities, grows, and diversifies its economy, and contributes to bilateral and regional defense industrial base capacity,” read the joint vision.
Manila is looking to invest in its defense industrial base amid South China Sea tensions and military modernization programs under the Self-Reliance Defense Posture. Japan and South Korea have also demonstrated interest in defense industry cooperation, most notably in shipbuilding and maintenance.
U.S., Philippine and Japanese warships conducted a joint patrol near Scarborough Shoal on the same day as Hegseth’s visit to Manila. The trialteral exercise was shadowed by a People’s Liberation Army Navy vessel.
