US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is likely to face questions about Washington’s commitment to the Indo-Pacific region when he meets Southeast Asian counterparts in the Philippines on Wednesday.
China’s defence attaché in the Philippines will attend the meeting, its defence ministry said on Tuesday. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. EVENTUAL CHAIRMAN’S STATEMENT SEEN AS RESTRAINED
Days before the meeting, set for October 28 and 29, the Philippine military said it monitored and shadowed China’s Liaoning aircraft carrier group as it passed through waters off the southern Philippines toward the Celebes Sea.
As the Iran war strains US military readiness and tension rises with China, the Pentagon said Hegseth’s attendance at the gathering in the Philippine province of Cebu would reaffirm Washington’s commitment to “peace through strength” in the Pacific. Analysts said Southeast Asian nations could use meetings with Hegseth on the sidelines to seek clarity about the endgame in Iran, US expectations from allies and partners, and how the conflict’s demands square with commitments to the Indo-Pacific. “They will want to seek answers from the United States regarding certainty towards alliances and partnerships,” said Collin Koh, a security scholar at Singapore’s S. Greg Poling, director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative said Hegseth would get an opportunity at the gathering to tackle aspects regarding China, the disputed South China Sea and Washington’s commitments to its treaty allies.
