00:00The United States is ready to continue the long-standing alliance, friendship, and cooperation in the Philippines.
00:07That's what US President Donald Trump promised when he sent a message of courtesy call to US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.
00:17Hegseth also emphasized the goal of expanding the military-to-military cooperation between the US and the Philippines.
00:23He also reaffirmed the strong cooperation between the two countries, particularly in the defense and maintenance of peace in the Indo-Pacific region.
00:32Hegseth also praised the Philippines' commitment to strengthening its sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea.
00:39He also emphasized the importance of deterrence or strategies to avoid any trouble in the South China Sea.
00:46President R. Marcos, Jr. also supported the United States in advancing the sovereignty of the Philippines without using force.
01:16By our first trip and our first visit, it's here to visit you in your great country.
01:21Your visit to the region, and especially the fact that you have come to the Philippines as your first stop, is a very strong indication and sends a very strong message
01:33of the commitment of both our countries to continue to work together to maintain the peace in the Indo-Pacific region within the South China Sea.
01:44And I know that the work that we will do in the time that you have here, brief as it is, in the time that you have here in the Philippines,
01:52will be extremely productive and very, very important for us as we chart our way into the future, considering how complicated geopolitics has become.
