📷President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. hosted United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth at the Palace for a productive dialogue focused on bolstering security partnerships and pursuing mutual strategic objectives. (Presidential Communications Office | FB)
Bagong Alyansang Makabayan warns that the Manila visit of United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth could lead to an expansion of US military presence and intensified meddling by the Trump administration.
Hegseth, who could not name a single Southeast Asian nation during his confirmation hearing in January, has no other aim than to impose the US imperialist agenda during his meeting with Philippine officials. Like his predecessors, Hegseth sees the Philippines as a territory that can be used to expand US military forces and assert US geopolitical influence in the region.
The US government relies on corrupt leaders like Marcos to echo the US rhetoric and advance US interests. It exploits our dispute with China to promote the neocolonial narrative that the only way to defend our borders is to host US bases and allow the US to deploy weapons of mass destruction like the Typhon missile.
Through Hegseth, the Trump administration could demand access to more bases and other outposts within the Philippines. This will further escalate tension in the region and displace the local population. Hegseth claims he is here to reaffirm the supposed ironclad commitment of the US, but he has nothing to offer other than the imperialist plan of converting the Philippines into an extension of the US military network.
Hegseth’s visit is ahead of the annual provocative, costly, and disruptive Balikatan military exercises. The joint drills, the arrival of foreign military forces, and the war-mongering against China undermine our sovereignty, jeopardize our safety and obstruct the demand to pursue an independent and self-reliant foreign policy. They also represent an interference in the ongoing midterm election when foreign armed forces can freely roam around the country, even in non-EDCA sites, while a gun ban is imposed during the campaign period.
Bayan forces led a protest during Hegseth’s visit as we reiterate the demand for the expulsion of all US military forces and bases, the scrapping of onerous military deals, and the rejection of joint military exercises with foreign troops.#
