U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth applauds during the ASEAN Plus meeting at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Defense Ministers Meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, November 1, 2025.
Vincent Tian | via Reuters
Pentagon Secretary Pete Hegseth on Saturday accused China of increasing “destabilizing behavior” in the South China Sea and pledged to use technology to help Southeast Asian countries jointly respond to the Chinese threat.
The second day in Kuala Lumpur was packed with meetings, including multilateral talks with allies Australia, Japan and the Philippines, with Hegseth proposing to ASEAN defense ministers the creation of a shared maritime domain awareness, saying China was showing a lack of respect and threatening territorial sovereignty.
“You are living in light of the threats that we all face from China’s aggression and its actions in the South China Sea and elsewhere,” he said.
“We need to develop joint capabilities to respond. This includes developing tools that allow us to monitor actions at sea and respond quickly. Therefore, we ensure that whoever is on the receiving end of attacks and provocations is not alone, as they should.”
“No nation can innovate and scale like the United States, and we are eager to share that capability with our allies and partners,” Hegseth added.
china coast guard fleet
Mr Hegseth’s remarks came a day after troops from Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines and the United States conducted exercises in the South China Sea, patrols that a Chinese military spokesperson said “severely undermined peace and stability.”
Beijing claims sovereignty over most of the South China Sea through a line on the map that overlaps parts of the exclusive economic zones of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
China has been accused of deploying a coast guard fleet hundreds of kilometers from the mainland, repeatedly colliding with Philippine vessels, and interfering with the energy activities of Malaysia and Vietnam.
Beijing denies any aggressive actions and says its coast guard operates professionally to protect Chinese territory from invasion.
On Friday, Defense Minister Dong Jun said China and ASEAN need to “unite the powers of the East” and work together to protect peace and stability in the South China Sea.
Be careful when testing nuclear weapons
Hegseth’s trip to Southeast Asia came shortly after US President Donald Trump announced on social media that he had asked the US military to “start nuclear weapons testing” after a 33-year hiatus, a move seen as a message to rival nuclear powers China and Russia.
It was not immediately clear whether Trump meant a nuclear explosion test conducted by the National Nuclear Security Administration or a flight test of a nuclear-capable missile.
Asked by reporters what kind of nuclear tests President Trump was referring to, Hegseth said his department would comment later, adding: “We have very strong nuclear capabilities and those tests can only be done with caution.”
In his speech at the Defense Ministers’ Forum, Hegseth touted America’s beliefs in peace and said the United States is dedicated to building a military force “unparalleled among global powers,” while emphasizing its commitment to allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific.
He said the U.S.-China dialogue is important and the opportunity to speak with the Chinese side on Friday was valuable, but warned that Beijing’s actions need to be closely monitored.
“We are looking for peace. We are not looking for conflict, but we have to make sure that China is not trying to control you or anyone else,” Hegseth told ASEAN officials.
