By South China Morning Post | Created at 2025-03-30 13:39:34 | Updated at 2025-04-01 12:51:39
1 day ago
Deeper security cooperation among US allies in Asia will bring more uncertainties to the South China Sea and Taiwan issues, observers in China have warned after US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth’s visit to the region.
Hegseth stopped in the Philippines and Japan, both US treaty allies, during what was his first trip to Asia since taking office. In Manila on Friday, Hegseth highlighted the ironclad nature of the US-Philippine alliance as he pledged increased defence cooperation.
He also pledged to deploy modern US military capabilities in joint training and highlighted the need for improved interoperability in “high-end operations” to counter China’s presence in the region.
Speaking in Japan on Sunday, Hegseth renewed Washington’s commitment to “sustaining robust, ready and credible deterrence in the Indo-Pacific, including across the Taiwan Strait”.
Calling Japan an “indispensable partner” amid growing Chinese assertiveness in the region, he announced that the US military command in Japan was being upgraded to a new “war-fighting headquarters” – with increased staff and authority for new missions.
On Friday, the Philippines and Japan staged joint naval drills with US forces in the disputed South China Sea, drawing strong criticism from Beijing, which has been involved in frequent confrontations with Manila around multiple contested reefs in the area.
