US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reaffirmed Washington’s “ironclad” commitment to a mutual defense treaty with the Philippines during a call with his counterpart in Manila in the face of geopolitical tensions in South China Sea.

China has conducted military patrols in the South China Sea while the Philippines was holding joint naval drills with the U.S., Japan and Australia, saying Manila is undermining Beijing's claims in the region.

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth reaffirmed Washington’s “ironclad” commitment to a mutual defense treaty with the Philippines during a call with his counterpart in Manila in the face of geopolitical tensions in the South China Sea.

Earlier, Chinese naval vessels attracted Manila’s ire as they crossed Basilan Strait on the way to distant-sea training exercise.

Philippine fishing boats claimed they were harassed by China, labelling the incident as a "blatant disregard" of a regulation preventing collisions at sea.

The Chinese military carried out combat readiness patrols in waters and airspace surrounding a hotly disputed Sea shoal on Friday, the latest in a series of exercises to reinforce its control of the area.

It followed Tuesday’s PLA air patrol over the contested Scarborough Shoal – known as Huangyan Island in China. The Chinese military activities came after the Philippines and the United States held a joint patrol over the South China Sea on Tuesday,