Hegseth heads to Manila to shore up US ties with Asia-Pacific partners
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will participate in the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting-Plus in Manila this week, aiming to strengthen US ties with Asia-Pacific partners amid regional security concerns.
The gathering will unite defense officials from the 11-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) alongside eight dialogue partners. Australia, New Zealand, Russia and China are also expected to send representatives to the talks, which run from Wednesday to Thursday in the Philippines. A parallel ASEAN members-only event will also be held for Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam.
Regional Security Focus
William Yang, senior analyst for Northeast Asia at the International Crisis Group, told Al Jazeera that the focus will be on regional security concerns like Myanmar's ongoing civil war and maritime disputes between ASEAN states and neighbouring China.
The South China Sea dispute is going to be front and centre because the Philippines is the chair of this year's summit
Yang expects Manila to push for ASEAN to finalise a code of conduct with China to outline how to approach maritime disputes in the globally important waterway. The Philippines, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan all have overlapping territorial claims to the South China Sea, although Beijing claims most of it as domestic waters.
Escalating Tensions
These disputes often leave Beijing at odds with its neighbours, and particularly Manila, as both sides claim the uninhabited Scarborough Shoal and parts of the Spratly Islands. Tensions escalated sharply this month with at least 'eight close encounters' in the South China Sea and nearby Luzon Strait, according to the US Naval Institute.
The spat turned into a war of words when Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Jing Quan said Beijing could 'easily win' a war with the Philippines, prompting a Philippine senator to call for his expulsion.
US-China Relations
Beijing has yet to confirm whether Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun will attend ADMM-Plus in person, but he could still make a last-minute appearance. China and the US have spent the past year thawing their relationship. A face-to-face meeting between Hegseth and Dong could lay the groundwork for two meetings between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping scheduled for later this year.
Bonnie Glaser, managing director of the German Marshall Fund's Indo-Pacific Program, told Al Jazeera by email: 'It is certainly possible that he will attend again this year. I would not be surprised if Dong meets with Secretary Hegseth, especially since China has repeatedly said that it attaches importance to strengthening crisis communications and preventing crises between the US and Chinese militaries.'
US Regional Commitment
Analysts say that the bulk of Hegseth's work at ASEAN will be reassuring the bloc and its dialogue partners that the US remains committed to the region amid its months-long conflict with Iran. The US has raised eyebrows in Asia over the past year by moving some of its military assets from South Korea and Japan to the Middle East, while Trump has also sent mixed signals on his views on Taiwan.
Trump has reportedly delayed a major arms package to Taiwan, an unofficial US ally, ahead of an upcoming meeting with Xi at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in November, before the Group of 20 (G20) Leaders' Summit in December.
Ja Ian Chong, a political scientist at the National University of Singapore, said: 'What Hegseth says and does will be interesting,' because of recent comments by US defence official Elbridge Colby suggesting that Washington would focus less on empty gestures and more on substance in the Asia-Pacific region.
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