US EditionUS urges ASEAN to be firm in countering China in the South China Sea
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth urged ASEAN to build joint maritime surveillance and rapid-response capabilities to counter China’s destabilizing actions in the South China Sea.
- On Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth urged Southeast Asian nations at an ASEAN meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to stand firm and bolster maritime forces.
- Recent months have seen China escalate activity by ramming vessels and using water cannons, while Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea and declared Scarborough Shoal a `nature reserve` after seizing it from the Philippines in 2012.
- The Philippines completed a two-day exercise that ended Friday, the 12th since last year, which featured anti-submarine warfare simulation, replenishment, air operations, and drew Chinese officials’ criticism.
- Hegseth urged enhanced joint surveillance and rapid-response tools to deter provocations in the disputed sea and welcomed the ASEAN-U.S. maritime exercise in December to reinforce freedom of navigation and sovereign rights.
- The South China Sea remains one of Asia's most volatile flashpoints with competing claims from the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei, while ASEAN balances caution with economic ties to Beijing, which rejects U.S. criticism.
66 Articles
66 Articles
US to Asean: Counter China’s destab actions
KUALA LUMPUR — US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth urged Southeast Asian nations to stand firm and strengthen their maritime forces to counter China’s increasingly “destabilizing” actions in the South China Sea.“China’s sweeping territorial and maritime claims in the South China Sea fly in the face of their commitments to resolve disputes peacefully,” Hegseth said at a meeting with his counterparts from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations o…
'Fell for it again': Pete Hegseth ridiculed by both sides over 'God bless China' comment
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was ridiculed over the weekend after a statement in which he announced closer cooperation with China and declared, "God bless both China and the USA!"Hegseth on Saturday took to social media to disclose the new stance toward a nation previously treated as an adver...
Pete Hegseth Condemns China's 'Destabilizing Actions' In South China Sea, Pledges US Support To Southeast Asian Allies: Reports
Pete Hegseth condemned China's actions in the South China Sea, pledged support to help Southeast Asian nations counter potential aggression.
The Times of Northwest Indiana
Hegseth urges ASEAN to counter China in sea
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth urged Southeast Asian nations Saturday to stand firm and strengthen their maritime forces to counter China's increasingly "destabilizing" actions in the South China Sea.
Hegseth urges ASEAN to be firm in countering China in the South China Sea
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Saturday urged Southeast Asian nations to stand firm and strengthen their maritime forces to counter China’s increasingly “destabilizing” actions in the South China Sea. Speaking at a meeting in Malaysia with his counterparts from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Hegseth reiterated U.S. concern…
US urges ASEAN to counter China in disputed sea
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth urged Southeast Asian nations Saturday to stand firm and strengthen their maritime forces to counter China’s increasingly “destabilizing” actions in the South China Sea.
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