United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is set to visit the Philippines next week in order to strengthen the alliance and partnership with its ally, as well as participate in a series of bilateral meetings.

Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said this would be Hegseth’s first official visit to the region since his appointment in the Trump administration.

“He will travel to the Philippines, where he will advance security objectives with Philippine leaders and meet with US and Philippine forces,” Parnell said.

Before travelling to the Philippines, Hegseth will visit Hawaii to meet with senior US military and civilian leaders. He will then proceed to Guam to tour military facilities and receive capability briefs.

Following his meeting with Philippine officials, the US Defense Secretary will go to Japan and participate in the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima and will meet with Japanese leaders and US military forces.

“Secretary Hegseth’s trip comes as the United States builds on unprecedented cooperation with like-minded countries to strengthen regional security,” Parnell said.

“These engagements will drive ongoing efforts to strengthen our alliances and partnerships toward our shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific,” he added.

Hegseth’s visit comes ahead of the annual Balikatan exercises between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the US military.

In an interview on Saturday in Taguig City, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. confirmed the scheduled visit.

“All I can say is, this visit, we’ll talk about enhancing our bilateral and multilateral partnerships further, greater interoperability, and of course, we also have to take a look at future programs that both governments will enter into,” Teodoro said.

He did not provide details on the other topics to be discussed.

“The content, let’s wait for the meeting. All I can say is that we will talk about our existing partnerships, bilaterally and multilaterally, and how to move them forward,” he said.