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By Mikhail Flores and Karen Lema
MANILA (Reuters) -U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reaffirmed Washington's "ironclad" commitment to a defence treaty with the Philippines on Friday and pledged to deploy advanced capabilities to its partner to strengthen a deterrence against threats, including Chinese "aggression".
Hegseth met his counterpart Gilberto Teodoro and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, and they signalled continued strong cooperation amid growing threats from China, emphasising a shared commitment to peace in the Indo-Pacific region and in the South China Sea, where Manila accuses Beijing of repeated hostile actions.
"Deterrence is necessary around the world, but specifically in this region, in your country, considering the threats from the communist Chinese," Hegseth said.
He also said the United States was not seeking war and described President Donald Trump as a peacemaker.
"President Trump seeks peace ... but in order to bring that peace, we will be strong," he told a press conference with Teodoro.
"Our allies will know we stand with them. Our admirals are prepared, and they will be properly equipped," he said. "We're rebuilding our military under President Trump."
China argued there were no issues with freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea and urged the United States to stop "instigating ideological confrontation" and "sowing discord" in the region.
"All along, it is the U.S. side that has been indulging its allies in provocations in the South China Sea, and it is the U.S. side that has repeatedly fabricated false propositions about China's threat to freedom... in the South China Sea," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told a regular press briefing on Friday.
China also advised the Philippines not to act in accordance with the United States, and not to try to provoke military confrontation, Guo said.
China has expansive territorial claims in the South China Sea that overlap with the exclusive economic zones of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
The Philippines is Hegseth's first stop on a trip to Asia that has been overshadowed by revelations that highly sensitive attack plans against Houthi militants in Yemen were shared on a commercial messaging app that included a journalist.
Hegseth will also visit Japan, where he is expected to meet his counterpart Gen Nakatani in Tokyo, as well as Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, this weekend.
"We're here in the Philippines to strengthen that partnership. We'll be in Japan to do the same," he said just as the United States, Japan and the Philippines held maritime drills in the South China Sea.
The drills, which brought together Japan's multi-mission frigate JS Noshiro, Philippine Navy ship BRP Jose Rizal, and U.S. Navy's guided-missile destroyer USS Shoup, were the eighth round of exercises among allies.
SPECIAL FORCES EXERCISES
Hegseth sidestepped a question on the sharing of the plan on the Signal app, replying that he was responsible for ensuring the defence department was prepared and ready.
Hegseth said the United States would deploy additional advanced capabilities to the Philippines, including the NMESIS anti-ship missile system and unmanned surface vehicles that he described as "highly capable".
He said they also agreed to conduct bilateral special forces training operations on the Philippines' northernmost islands of Batanes, close to Taiwan.
"Our partnership not only continues today, but we are doubling down on that partnership, and our ironclad alliance has never been stronger," he said.
Marcos, who pledged to work closely with Washington to uphold regional stability, said Hegseth's visit was a sign of the U.S. support for its treaty ally.
"It sends a very strong message of the commitment of both our countries to continue to work together to maintain the peace in the Indo-Pacific region within the South China Sea," he said.
The meeting comes against the backdrop of tensions between the Philippines and an increasingly powerful China over disputed islands in the South China Sea, where the two nations have had frequent maritime run-ins.
(Reporting by Karen Lema and Mikhail Flores; Additional reporting by Antoni Slodkowski, Ethan Wang and Joe Cash in Beijing; Editing by John Mair, Martin Petty and Gerry Doyle)
