U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth says Washington and Manila should stand "shoulder to shoulder" against the regional threat posed by China. Hegseth has met with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as part of his first trip to Asia. Hegseth has sought to reassure Manila about President Donald Trump's commitment to a mutual defense treaty with the Philippines.
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00:00U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has met with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos,
00:04Jr. in Manila as part of his first official trip to Asia.
00:08Hegseth says the U.S. and the Philippines should stand
00:11shoulder-to-shoulder against the threat posed by China.
00:14The U.S. Army and the Philippine Armed Forces kicked off their annual
00:17Salaknib joint exercises earlier this week,
00:20while their annual Belikatan military exercises will begin next month.
00:24Hegseth told President Marcos that U.S. President Donald Trump remains
00:28committed to a mutual defense treaty with Manila.
00:32He and I both want to express the ironclad commitment we have
00:37to the mutual defense treaty and to the partnership, economically, militarily,
00:43which our staffs have worked on diligently for weeks and weeks and months.
00:49Hegseth is set to visit Japan on Sunday,
00:52where he will meet with Japanese Defense Minister Nakatani Gen.