U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth walks with his staff prior to a ministerial lunch at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defense Ministers’ Meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025. Dita Alangkara/Pool via REUTERS

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth leaves after a bilateral meeting with Malaysia's Defense Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin ahead of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defense Ministers' Meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. | Dita Alangkara

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth maintained Washington’s position on Taiwan and stressed the defense of U.S. interests in the Indo-Pacific region during a meeting with Chinese Minister of National Defense Adm.

The US says it is ready to share tools to help its allies in Southeast Asia counter China's actions in the region, with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth taking aim at Beijing over what he called "destabilising actions" in the South China Sea.

Japan is seeking to create a more self-sufficient military as a deterrence against China’s increasingly assertive military activity in the region, and has concentrated on defense buildup on its southwestern islands. Japan also has concerns about the rising tensions caused by North Korea and Russia.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth spoke on Friday with counterparts from China and India, beginning a series of face-to-face meetings at an ASEAN defence summit in Malaysia, as Washington seeks to boost regional security ties.

Xi’s calls for multilateral cooperation at the APEC summit is in sharp contrast to Trump’s “America First” agenda.