Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth met with Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in the latter’s home country on Friday to discuss strategic enhancements to geopolitical security against China’s aggression and to protect universal navigation rights in the South China Sea for all countries.

Pete Hegseth blamed the previous Biden Administration for insufficient actions that emboldened aggressors like China.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Sunday that Japan was indispensable in tackling Chinese aggression by helping Washington establish a "credible" deterrence in the region, including across the Taiwan Strait.