U.S. Secretary of Defense Peter Hegseth listens as U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks in the Oval Office of the White House on March 21, 2025 in Washington, DC. Anna Moneymaker, Getty Images/AFP 

MANILA — The upcoming visit of United States Department of Defense (DOD) Secretary Pete Hegseth to the country this week highlights the strong military ties between the Philippines and the US, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said on Tuesday.

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AFP spokesperson Colonel France Margareth Padilla said the visit reaffirms Washington’s ironclad commitment to Manila.

“Itong visit na ito reaffirms itong laging sinasabi ng ating ally for a long time, ang US, that 'yung commitment nga nila is ironclad dito sa pagsupport sa atin and strengthening our alliances with them,” Padilla told reporters in a press briefing.

Hegseth will meet with Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City on Friday, March 28, for a bilateral meeting.

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The visit marks the first time the two defense chiefs would meet in person since US President Donald Trump took office at the White House in January.

Padilla also noted that Hegseth’s visit will take place on the heels of preparations for the Balikatan exercise between the AFP and US Armed Forces.

“We look at this as an opportunity, itong Balikatan exercises, which is going to be one of the biggest again, to have more activities and more exercises on live fire exercises, and different activities as well,” Padilla noted.

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“Nakita natin na as we go along through the years, naiimprove itong systems that we have in place in order to strengthen our interoperability and integration of our systems with one another,” she added.

“Nakikita natin na with this upcoming Balikatan, there are more countries also trying to join the bandwagon. This is actually a step in the right direction for us,” she further said.

The 40th iteration of the Balikatan exercise will kick off on April 21st.

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