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Jean Mangaluz - Philstar.com
March 28, 2025 | 6:43pm
On his first official visit to the Philippines, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks at the presidential palace Malacañang on Manila on March 28, 2025.
PCO
MANILA, Philippines — Hegseth, who is in the Philippines for an official visit, has been hounded in controversy back home after sending war plans over a groupchat on the messaging platform Signal.
Hegseth reportedly shared sensitive war plans in a Signal group chat that inadvertently included Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic. The plans detailed an attack on Houthi rebels in Yemen, raising serious questions about operational security and the use of unauthorized platforms for sharing classified information.
The controversy has sent prompted inquiries into who was responsible for the security breach. At a joint press conference with his Philippine counterpart, Gilbert Teodoro, Hegseth was confronted by a foreign reporter about if he felt responsible over the matter.
Sidestepping the direct question, Hegseth instead mentioned his broader responsibilities, such as to make sure that US forces are prepared to defeat "enemies."
"I'm quite proud of what our forces in [United States Central Command] did on that initial series of very effective and devastating strikes and the ongoing campaign that we are undertaking," Hegseth said.
He added that these actions were necessary to reestablish deterrence after what he described as "four years of deferred maintenance and failure and weakness of the Biden administration."
Hegseth added that the US is keen on ensuring freedom of navigation is restored in the Indo-Pacific Region and the South China Sea.
His response, however, left unanswered the question of his personal responsibility for the chat scandal.
Hegseth earlier met with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., reaffirming the US' "ironclad commitment" to the Philippines amid ongoing tensions in the South China Sea.
