00:00President Ferdinand R. Marcus Jr. met with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to discuss
00:05strengthening bilateral ties, particularly in defense cooperation.
00:09The chief executive underscored that Hegseth's visit underscores the United States' strong
00:14commitment to maintaining peace in the Indo-Pacific region and highlighted the longstanding cooperation
00:20between the Philippines and the U.S., supporting the country's pursuit of sovereignty throughout
00:25diplomatic means.
00:27The leader of the land further noted the U.S.'s intent to expand military-to-military cooperation,
00:32which he described as mutually beneficial for both nations.
00:36For his part, Hegseth commended the Philippines' firm stance on asserting its sovereignty over
00:40the West Philippine Sea and underscored the role of deterrence in maintaining stability
00:45in the South China Sea.
00:50Your visit to the region, and especially the fact that you have come to the Philippines
00:55as your first stop, is a very strong indication and sends a very strong message of the commitment
01:03of both our countries to continue to work together to maintain the peace in the Indo-Pacific
01:10region within the South China Sea.
01:13And I know that the work that we will do in the time that you have here, brief as it is,
01:18in the time that you have here in the Philippines, will be extremely productive and very, very
01:23important for us as we chart our way into the future, considering how complicated geopolitics
01:33has become.
01:34And he and I both want to express the ironclad commitment we have to the Mutual Defense Treaty
01:42and to the partnership, economically, militarily, which our staffs have worked on diligently
01:50for weeks and weeks and months.
01:51There is a very real reason why our first trip and our first visit is here to visit
01:57you in your great country.
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