Hegseth heads to Manila to shore up US ties with Asia-Pacific partners

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth will attend a Southeast Asian defence meeting this week alongside his counterparts from India, South Korea and Japan as Washington looks to solidify ties with the region after a year overshadowed by the fallout from the US-Israel war on Iran.

The meeting will bring together defence officials from the 11-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) pl...