KUALA LUMPUR – U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday held separate meetings with his counterparts from China and India, kicking off a series of high-level talks at an ASEAN defence summit in Malaysia, as Washington intensifies efforts to strengthen regional security ties.
Hegseth said on X that he told China’s Defence Minister Dong Jun the United States would “stoutly defend its interests” and maintain the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific, while expressing concern over Beijing’s activities in the South China Sea and around Taiwan.
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The U.S. defence chief also signed a 10-year defence cooperation framework with India’s Rajnath Singh, calling it a “cornerstone for regional stability and deterrence.” The two leaders are also expected to review India’s planned purchases of U.S. military hardware.
During the summit, which gathers ASEAN defence ministers along with delegations from the U.S., China, India, Russia, Australia, and Japan, regional security challenges—including China’s “grey-zone tactics” in the South China Sea—dominated discussions. Malaysian Defence Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin accused Beijing of provocative maritime activities that “threaten sovereignty.”
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Meanwhile, President Donald Trump announced he had ordered the U.S. military to resume nuclear weapons testing, citing China’s expanding nuclear capabilities. His statement came ahead of a planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, raising fresh concerns about escalating military competition in the Indo-Pacific.