US and Philippines form Task Force to deter crises in South China Sea

The Philippines and the United States on Friday unveiled a joint task force to strengthen deterrence and crisis response in the South China Sea, as the Philippine defense minister said Manila is preparing to take a more proactive role in regional defense cooperation ahead of its 2026 chairship of the ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting and ADMMPlus. The announcement and related bilateral meetings took place at the 19th ADMM and 12th ADMMPlus in Kuala Lumpur.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro Jr. announced the creation of Task Force Philippines to increase combined planning, improve interoperability and accelerate preparedness to respond to crisis or aggression in the South China Sea. Hegseth said the Mutual Defense Treaty remains critical and that the initiative is intended to reestablish deterrence. A Pentagon spokesman said the task force will expand operational cooperation across air, naval and cyber domains and implement an Alliance Readiness Action Plan to advance key defense priorities over the next two years.

Teodoro framed the initiative as part of broader Philippine efforts to deepen regional defense ties. He said the...