In a stark address at the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting on November 1, 2025, U.S. War Secretary Pete Hegseth accused China (PRC) of "unlawfully claiming jurisdiction over waters that are not theirs" and seeking to "regulate and limit peaceful military actions by other nations" in the disputed South China Sea.
Hegseth's remarks, delivered amid rising regional tensions, urge ASEAN nations to join a U.S.-led maritime awareness program to counter Beijing's "aggression and coercion," including ship rammings and water cannon attacks on Philippine vessels.
The comments follow Hegseth's first in-person meeting with Chinese (PRC) Defense Minister Dong Jun, where he reiterated U.S. commitments to allies like the Philippines and Taiwan (RoC).
