As President Trump’s tariff announcements dominated headlines last week, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth was undertaking the more routine version of what is grandly termed “defense diplomacy.” He traveled to the Philippines and Japan, having first visited the headquarters of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii and the strategically vital bomber station at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam.

After what most people would have regarded as the profound public humiliation of the Signal group chat leak, Hegseth was on more predictable and scripted territory, but his mission was important. He was seeking to reassure America’s allies in the Pacific that, even if the Trump administration is less interested in events in Europe, its commitment to containing China and supporting America’s regional security partners remains a central part of its security policy.

In Manila, Hegseth met President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and the secretary of national defense and announced that the U.S. was not only steadfast in its commitment to the Philippines, but would deploy additional assets and increase training, industrial and cyber cooperation. This includes providing the Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System anti-ship missiles for the annual Exercise Balikatan in April and May.

When he reached Japan, there were more plans and commitments. Hegseth seemingly cannot last the duration of a media event without talking about “warfighting” or “the warrior ethos.” It is an oddly pleading obsession with crude displays of machismo, but it was the context in which he made his announcements.

U.S. Forces Japan, the 55,000 personnel deployed at 15........

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