Hegseth seeks to assuage Southeast Asian partners on trip to Philippines

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attempted to assuage Southeast Asian partners this week that the U.S. is dedicated to its allies in the Asia-Pacific region and pitched a defense framework to guide cooperation in the next few years during his trip to the Philippines.

Hegseth said the Trump administration’s “strong, quiet and clear” approach to the Indo-Pacific means Washington is willing to defend its interests and the interests of allies and partners.

“That is, by definition, peace through strength. And we’re ready and willing to work with all of you where you are based on your own circumstances and your own priorities and shared mutual interest thereafter,” Hegseth said this week to the U.S.-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) defense ministers in Cebu, Philippines.

The Pentagon chief’s appearance in the Philippines comes as Indo-Pacific allies continue to assess the U.S. commitment to the region and the broader impacts of the U.S. war against Iran , which has dragged on for more than seven months.

Hegseth said the relationship with Indo-Pacific allies will boost interoperability, strengthen maritime domain awareness and bolster the cooperation between U.S. and partner navies.

“Serious partners train together, learn together, plan together and build the confidence and competence necessary to prevent conflict,” Hegseth said, noting the differing views in the group.

“We’re not going to agree on everything, nor do we need to,” he continued. “But an agreement on the fundamentals is enough to support practical cooperation where our shared interests are overlapping and are clear, and that’s the type of cooperation the Department of War will continue to pursue with our ASEAN partners,” he said, using the Trump administration’s preferred name for the Department of Defense.

Hegseth did not elaborate much more about the new defense framework but noted it will guide the cooperation in the next several years, adding that the U.S. is ready to work with Singapore, which will assume the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus) chairmanship.

The administration’s assurance to the region, with Hegseth calling the U.S. a “proud Pacific nation,” is important for the host country, the Philippines, whose tensions with China have ramped up over maritime and territorial disputes in the South China Sea and Luzon Strait.

The two nations have looked to enforce their territorial claims with aircraft and vessels.

Gregory B. Poling, who oversees the Southeast Asia Program and Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Hegseth’s comments will be “well received” and that in many ways showing up at the ADMM-Plus meeting and not “saying anything overly concerning counts for a lot at the moment.”

“I’m sure the Philippines would have liked some more clear language on the South China Sea or Mutual Defense Treaty, and perhaps that will still come,” Poling told The Hill on Wednesday.

As for the U.S.-ASEAN defense framework, Poling said it seemed like a “floating a trial balloon more than a fully fleshed-out proposal.”

“But we’ll have to wait for Singapore’s ASEAN chairmanship next year to see if we hear about it again.”