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KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Saturday urged Southeast Asian nations to stand firm and strengthen their maritime forces to counter China’s increasingly “destabilizing” actions in the South China Sea.
Speaking at a meeting in Malaysia with his counterparts from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Hegseth reiterated US concern over what he called China’s aggression in the disputed waters that intensified in recent months, citing incidents such as ramming of vessels and the use of water cannons.
The South China Sea remains one of Asia’s most volatile flashpoints. Beijing claims almost the entire region, while ASEAN members the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei also claim ownership of coastal areas and features. The Philippines, a key US ally, has had frequent clashes with China’s maritime fleet.
Manila has repeatedly urged stronger regional response, but ASEAN has traditionally sought to balance caution with economic ties to Beijing, the region’s largest trading partner.
Hegseth criticized Beijing’s recent declaration of Scarborough Shoal, which China forcefully seized from the Philippines in 2012, as a “nature reserve.”
“You don’t put platforms on nature reserves,” he said, describing China’s activities on the uninhabited shoal. He told the meeting it was “yet another attempt to coerce new and expanded territorial and maritime claims at your expense.”
Hegseth said China’s provocative actions challenged and threatened territorial sovereignty in the region. While stressing that Washington values continued dialogue with Beijing, Hegseth said the US will monitor China’s behavior closely.
“China’s sweeping territorial and maritime claims in the South China Sea fly in the face of their commitments to resolve disputes peacefully,” he said. “We seek peace. We do not seek conflict. But we must ensure that China is not seeking to dominate you or anybody else.”
Hegseth emphasized the need for enhanced joint surveillance and rapid-response tools to deter provocations in the disputed sea. “Words without the ability to back them up with action are empty,” he said. He welcomed plans for an ASEAN-US maritime exercise in December that he said would increase interoperability and reinforce freedom of navigation and the sovereign rights of all nations.
China rejects US criticism of its maritime conduct, accusing Washington of interfering in regional affairs and provoking tensions through its military presence. Chinese officials say their patrols and construction activities are lawful and aimed at maintaining security in what they consider Chinese territory.
Chinese officials on Saturday slammed the Philippines for being a “troublemaker” after Manila staged naval and air drills with the US, Australia and New Zealand in the South China Sea. The two-day exercise that ended Friday was the 12th that the Philippines says it has carried out with partner nations since last year to protect its rights in the disputed waters.
The drills included an anti-submarine warfare simulation, replenishment and fueling at sea, air operations and communication exercises.
Tian Junli, spokesperson of China’s People’s Liberation Army Southern Theater Command, said the exercise seriously undermined regional peace and stability. “It further proves that the Philippines is the troublemaker in the South China Sea issue and a saboteur of regional stability,” he said.

PESHAWAR, Pakistan: Pakistan on Saturday partially reopened the Torkham border crossing with Afghanistan to allow thousands of stranded Afghan refugees to return home, officials said.
Restrictions remain on all other cross-border movement, including trade.
Pakistan closed all border crossings with Afghanistan on Oct. 12 following deadly clashes in which both sides claimed to have killed dozens of troops.
The closure, which lasted nearly three weeks, left thousands of Afghan refugees stranded along with hundreds of trucks carrying goods, suspending key trade routes between the two countries.
The reopening came after Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to maintain a ceasefire following nearly weeklong negotiations facilitated by Turkiye and Qatar aimed at preventing a wider conflict in the region.
Authorities said no new exchange of fire has been reported since the ceasefire along the 2,611-kilometer (1,622-mile) border, known as the Durand Line, which Afghanistan has never formally recognized.
Thousands of Afghan refugees had been moved to a temporary camp near the border, while hundreds more waited along the roadside for the crossing to reopen. Despite the partial reopening, trade across the frontier remains suspended on both sides.
Local officials at the Afghan side told The Associated Press that the gate was reopened Saturday morning exclusively for Afghan refugees, with thousands expected to cross back into Afghanistan throughout the day.
They urged all other travelers to refrain from using the crossing until further notice.
A video released by the Information and Culture Department of Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province showed local officials and Afghan soldiers standing at the Torkham gate holding flowers to welcome returning refugees as they crossed back into their country.
The development came a day after Afghanistan’s ambassador to Pakistan, Ahmad Shakeeb, wrote on X that large numbers of Afghan refugees remained stranded because of Pakistan’s closure of border crossings.
On Friday, Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi said the Afghan ambassador had violated diplomatic norms by airing his grievances on social media instead of communicating through Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry.
Since 2023, Pakistan has launched a campaign to deport immigrants living illegally in the country. More than a million Afghans have been repatriated as part of the effort.
Earlier this month, Pakistan’s military said it carried out airstrikes on the hideouts of the Pakistani Taliban inside Afghanistan, killing dozens of people it described as insurgents. Afghan officials denied the claim, saying civilians were among the dead, and said Afghan forces had struck Pakistani military posts in retaliation, killing 58 soldiers. Pakistan’s military acknowledged losing 23 troops in the fighting.
The violence prompted Qatar to invite delegations from both sides to Doha, where they agreed to a ceasefire on Oct. 19. It was followed by six days of talks in Istanbul that continued until Thursday night, when the two sides agreed to maintain the truce.
Pakistan has seen a sharp rise in militant attacks in recent months, most claimed by the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan. The group, designated a terrorist organization by both the United States and the United Nations, is separate from the Afghan Taliban but has been emboldened by the Afghan group’s takeover of Kabul in 2021.