PANAMA CITY, Panama—U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth wrapped up his tour of Panama on Wednesday, inking two critical Memoranda of Understanding with officials of the central American nation determined to get more support, investment, and protection from the United States in exchange for renewed Sino-skepticism.
The trip, which saw precisely 47 staffers work the 3-day itinerary, included much in the way of high-level diplomatic negotiations, with a hefty dose of troop morale boosting in the region.
Hegseth went out of his way aboard the USS Chosin, a guided missile cruiser that arrived in the city just days ago, to honor and reward servicemen and women–a trait that has already become a hallmark of his tenure at the Pentagon.
At the CENTSEC conference Wednesday morning, Hegseth delivered the overarching message of his trip: “We do not seek war with China, and war with China is certainly not inevitable. We do not seek it in any form. But together, we must prevent war by robustly and vigorously deterring China’s threats in this hemisphere.”
Hegseth doesn’t mince words about the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), taking almost every opportunity to warn over and stare down their efforts in the Western hemisphere–a task for which the Biden government showed little regard.
“China-based companies are capturing land [and] critical infrastructure in strategic sectors such as energy and telecommunications,” he said, warning that “China’s military has too large of a presence in the Western Hemisphere.”
“They operate military facilities and ground stations to extend their reach into space. They exploit natural resources and land to fuel China’s global military ambitions. China’s factory fishing fleets are stealing food from our nations and from our people,” he observed, adding, “Make no mistake, Beijing is investing and operating in this region for military advantage and unfair economic gain.”
But while his most significant ire was directed at the CCP, his greatest joy appeared to be speaking with U.S. servicemen and women. Hegseth himself served more than two decades ago, and routinely draws upon his personal experiences and concerns to connect with those on active duty.
He gets it, he tells them. He’s been there, he says. The thing you need most is for your leaders to have your back, and for the apparatus around you to work, he reassures.
He speaks often, as during his confirmation hearing, of refusing to put American soldiers in a “fair fight” but rather to equip them to first deter, and then–if that fails–to ruthlessly destroy the enemy. It’s a line that gets uninformed members nodding in approval every single time.
Yet, there were some things Hegseth was a little more coy about, like during a press conference held alongside Panamanian security minister Abrego on Wednesday afternoon. Asked by The National Pulse if there had been any discussions about Panama refusing to recognize Taiwan since 2017, both men just completely ignored the question.
.@RaheemKassam asks @SecDef @PeteHegseth about China accusing the U.S. of “blackmail” for wanting to take back the Panama Canal from Chinese influence: pic.twitter.com/MhdhYLUlc0
— Kristina Wong 🇺🇸 (@kristina_wong) April 9, 2025
You can’t necessarily hold it against them, but it does reveal a newness to their efforts. A more seasoned political actor would have had no problem parlaying the question into one they wanted to answer or using it to their advantage. Simply ignoring the question entirely makes it seem like they were caught off guard, and perhaps too embarrassed to say, “No, we didn’t discuss Taiwan.”
There can be no greater snub to China–as Hegseth was clearly in town to elicit–than recognition of Taiwanese independence.
But between his diplomacy movements and his ‘troop touches’ in locations like the old Fort Sherman, where so many of America’s grittiest warfighters learned their chops the extremely hard way, Hegseth appears to be settling into his role well. His staff appears upbeat and engaged. The only pitfalls that loom are the overwhelming number of career Department of Defense staffers who will likely attempt to stymie Hegseth’s America-First agenda at the Pentagon.
To combat that, Hegseth will need his own “WAR DRAGON!” mantra inside his office, as he freely chanted on the deck of the USS Chosin on Wednesday afternoon in sweltering temperatures and unGodly humidity.
He may not seek new wars overseas, but in time, he will almost certainly attract one from within the Pentagon’s ranks if he doesn’t move quickly to limit the powers of the forever-staffers who loathe the MAGA movement.
