World

Hegseth to Attend ASEAN Defence Meeting in Manila to Strengthen US‑Asia-Pacific Ties

By Erin Hale

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth will travel to Manila this week to attend the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting‑Plus (ADMM‑Plus) with counterparts from India, South Korea and Japan. The meeting, which runs from Wednesday to Thursday in the Philippines, will bring together defence officials from the 11‑member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and eight of its dialogue partners. Australia, New Zealand, Russia and China are also expected to send representatives.

The ADMM‑Plus will run alongside a separate ASEAN members‑only event that includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor‑Leste and Vietnam. India will host bilateral meetings on the sidelines of ADMM‑Plus to review ongoing defence ties and explore ways to strengthen strategic partnerships, according to state media.

Senior analyst William Yang of the International Crisis Group told Al Jazeera that the focus will be on regional security concerns such as Myanmar’s civil war and maritime disputes between ASEAN states and China. He said the South China Sea dispute will be a central topic because the Philippines is chair of this year’s summit. Yang expects Manila to push for ASEAN to finalise a code of conduct with China to manage maritime disputes.

The Philippines, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan all have overlapping territorial claims in the South China Sea, with Beijing claiming most of the area as domestic waters. Tensions escalated 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 intensified 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.

China has not confirmed whether Defence Minister Dong Jun will attend ADMM‑Plus in person, but he could make a last‑minute appearance. Dong attended ADMM‑Plus in 2024 and 2025, according to Bonnie Glaser, managing director of the German Marshall Fund’s Indo‑Pacific Program. Hegseth’s presence could influence Beijing’s calculations.

China and the US have been working to thaw their relationship over the past year. 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, following two previous meetings between Trump and Xi earlier in the year. Glaser said it is possible that Dong will meet with Hegseth, noting that China has repeatedly said it values strengthening crisis communications and preventing crises between US and Chinese militaries.

Analysts say Hegseth’s main task 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 drawn criticism in Asia for moving some military assets from South Korea and Japan to the Middle East, and Trump has sent mixed signals on Taiwan, another potential flashpoint. Trump reportedly delayed a major arms package to Taiwan ahead of an upcoming meeting with Xi at the Asia‑Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in November and the Group of 20 (G20) Leaders’ Summit in December.

Ja Ian Chong, a political scientist at the National University of Singapore, said Hegseth’s actions will be interesting given recent comments by US defence official Elbridge Colby that Washington would focus less on empty gestures and more on substance in the Asia‑Pacific region. Chong added that it will be challenging for Hegseth to keep to these lines while maintaining a US advantage.