WATCH: Hegseth delivers keynote address at Reagan National Defense Forum

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defended attacks on alleged drug cartel boats during his remarks Saturday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, saying President Donald Trump has the authority to take military action “as he sees fit” to defend the nation.

Watch Hegseth’s remarks in the video player above.

Hegseth rejected criticism of the strikes, which have killed more than 80 people and now face intense scrutiny over fears they violate international law. Hegseth said the strikes were justified to protect Americans, and likened the fighting to the war on terrorism in the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks.

Read more: Pete Hegseth faces deep congressional scrutiny over boat strikes in the Caribbean

“If you worked for a certain terrorist organization and brought drugs into this country on a boat, we would find you and we would drown you. There’s no need to doubt that,” Hegseth said during his keynote address at the Reagan National Defense Forum. “President Trump can take decisive military action as he sees fit to defend our nation’s interests. No nation on Earth should doubt that for even a moment.”

This latest attack brings the campaign’s death toll to at least 87 people. Lawmakers sought more answers about the attacks, their legal justifications, and whether US forces were ordered to launch a follow-up raid after the September attack even after the Pentagon learned there were survivors.

Although Hegseth compared the alleged drug traffickers to Al Qaeda terrorists, experts noted significant differences between the two rivals and the efforts being made to combat them.

Hegseth’s comments came after the Trump administration released its new National Security Strategy, a strategy that portrays European allies as weak and aims to reassert America’s dominance in the Western Hemisphere.

He watches: A national security strategist analyzes the Trump administration’s new global policy

During the speech, Hegseth also discussed the need to check China’s rise through force rather than conflict. He reiterated Trump’s pledge to resume nuclear testing on an equal footing with China and Russia, a goal that has alarmed many nuclear weapons experts. China and Russia have not conducted explosive tests in decades, although the Kremlin has said it would follow the United States if Trump resumed testing.

The speech was delivered at the Reagan National Defense Forum at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute in California, an event that brings together leading national security experts from across the country. Hegseth used the visit to say that Trump is Reagan’s “true and legitimate heir” when it comes to a strong foreign policy.

By contrast, Hegseth criticized Republican leaders in the years after Reagan for supporting wars in the Middle East and democracy-building efforts that did not succeed. He also criticized those who claimed that climate change poses serious challenges to military preparedness.

“The War Department will not be distracted by democracy building, intervention, indeterminate wars, regime change, climate change, moralizing, and weak nation building,” he said.