Hegseth: US deploying more advanced assets to PH for Balikatan
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visits President Ferdinand Marcos at the Malacañang Palace on Friday, March 28, 2025. (Screenshot from RTVM Livestream)
MANILA, Philippines—The United States will deploy additional advanced assets to the Philippines, including the Navy/Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) and unmanned surface vessels, as part of this year’s Balikatan exercises.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced this during a press conference on Friday.
He said the deployment of assets was part of his country’s “ongoing $500 million commitment in foreign military financing and other security assistance to support the Philippines’ military modernization.”
“First, we agreed that the United States will deploy additional advanced capabilities to the Philippines. This includes using the NMESIS anti-ship missile system and highly-capable unmanned surface vehicles in Exercise Balikatan this April,” Hegseth said in his speech.
“These systems will enable US forces and the armed forces of the Philippines to train together on using advanced capabilities to defend the Philippines’ sovereignty,” he added.
In a joint statement released to the media on Friday, Hegesth and Philippine counterpart Gilberto Teodoro Jr. explained that deploying the assets would “improve interoperability and strengthen deterrence by providing coverage of strategic sea lanes from coastal positions.”
“Training and testing on NMESIS and unmanned surface vessels as part of realistic exercises in the Philippines will increase the interoperability and operational readiness of US and Philippine forces to leverage cutting-edge military capabilities in Indo-Pacific operational environments,” they further said.
Aside from dispatching assets, Hegseth and Teodoro likewise announced plans to conduct advanced bilateral special operations forces training in the Batanes Islands, wherein the US Special Operations Forces and Philippine Marines will train for “complex landing scenarios;” publishing a bilateral defense industrial cooperation vision statement; and launching a bilateral cybersecurity campaign.
Last year, then-US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III and State Secretary Antony Blinken announced a $500 million grant for the modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine Coast Guard.
