KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) \u2014 U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Sunday that Washington and Beijing would establish military-to-military communications channels, adding that bilateral ties between the countries have \u201cnever been better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hegseth said he spoke with his Chinese counterpart, Admiral Dong Jun, late Saturday on the sidelines of a regional security meeting and that they agreed that \u201cpeace, stability and good relations are the best path for our two great and strong countries.\u201d<\/p>\n
His remarks posted on X came hours after he urged Southeast Asian nations to stand firm and strengthen their maritime forces to counter China\u2019s increasingly \u201cdestabilizing\u201d actions<\/a> in the South China Sea.<\/p>\n \u201cChina\u2019s sweeping territorial and maritime claims in the South China Sea fly in the face of their commitments to resolve disputes peacefully,\u201d Hegseth said at a meeting with his counterparts from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on Saturday. <\/p>\n \u201cWe seek peace. We do not seek conflict. But we must ensure that China is not seeking to dominate you or anybody else,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n The South China Sea remains one of Asia\u2019s 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 U.S. ally,<\/a> has had frequent clashes with China\u2019s maritime fleet. <\/p>\n Manila has repeatedly urged a stronger regional response, but ASEAN has traditionally sought to balance caution with economic ties to Beijing, the region\u2019s largest trading partner.<\/p>\n Hegseth said on X he also spoke with President Donald Trump and they agreed \u201cthe relationship between the U.S. and China has never been better.\u201d Trump\u2019s meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping<\/a> in South Korea earlier this week \u201cset the tone for everlasting peace and success for the U.S. and China,\u201d added Hegseth, who left Malaysia on Sunday for Vietnam.<\/p>\n The contrasting messages \u2014 a sharp warning at the ASEAN meeting followed by conciliatory language online \u2014 underscored Washington\u2019s effort to balance deterrence with diplomacy amid rising tensions with Beijing.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is damage control. More importantly, it reflects two different currents in U.S. relations with China \u2014 one that sees China as a threat and another a possible partner,\u201d said Southeast Asian political analyst Bridget Welsh.<\/p>\n In his meeting on Saturday, Hegseth criticized Beijing\u2019s recent declaration of the Scarborough Shoal \u2014 seized from the Philippines in 2012 \u2014 as a \u201cnature reserve.\u201d He told the meeting it was \u201cyet another attempt to coerce new and expanded territorial and maritime claims at your expense.\u201d<\/p>\n