KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Southeast Asian states are being urged to join a new maritime awareness program that will identify and respond to growing Chinese “aggression and coercion” in the South China Sea, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Southeast Asian defense chiefs on Saturday.
At a meeting hosted by the United States with defense ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Mr. Hegseth said he first warned in May that China’s provocative actions in the South China Sea were a wake-up call. The activities include “intimidation, harassment and illegal activities occurring within your sovereign waters across the South China Sea,” he said.
“Unfortunately, in the months since then, China’s destabilizing actions have only increased,” he said. “You’ve seen it. The world has seen it. It’s on the videotape. Some of you have been on the active and receiving end of it — ramming, blasting water cannons at ships and baselessly claiming that there’s trespassing going on, unlawfully claiming jurisdiction over waters that are not theirs.”
Other aggressive activities include Chinese attempts to limit peaceful military actions by other nations in the region.
The blunt talk on China came a day after Mr. Hegseth held his first in-person meeting with China’s Defense Minister Dong Jun at the ASEAN defense ministers’ conference.
The talks included candid exchanges on Taiwan, which the U.S. is pledged under U.S. law to defend with weapons sales, and large-scale Chinese military operations around the island that are described by U.S. military leaders as a rehearsal for an invasion.
The remarks were made at an informal meeting, called a “high tea” for the 11 ASEAN defense leaders. Mr. Hegseth called on the ASEAN leaders to commit to building a shared maritime domain awareness program in the South China Sea to provide what he called a “common operating picture.”
The intelligence awareness program would provide ASEAN leaders with a greater ability to identify and respond to Chinese aggression.
“I propose that we commit to building a shared maritime domain awareness, including in the South China Sea, [and] developing a common operating picture,” he said. “Where threats to one are known by all goes a long way ensuring that whoever is on the receiving end of aggression and provocation is then therefore by definition not alone.”
The awareness effort will also leverage advanced drone technology — unmanned aircraft, and autonomous surface and underwater vessels that, in some cases, can replace ships and aircraft.
Drone weapons produce remarkable military impacts at lower cost and lower risk to armed forces, he said.
“I propose we work together to develop and field the operational concepts in unmanned systems that can enable greater awareness in the maritime domain,” Mr. Hegseth said.
“We’re stronger when the tools and the skills that we have are welded together.”
ASEAN will join U.S. forces in December for maritime drills, including the Indonesian armed forces, that will increase interoperability and practice freedom of navigation operations that the secretary called a sovereign right of all nations.
Chinese naval forces are especially targeting the Philippines’ naval vessels with harassment activities, Mr. Hegseth said. The coercive actions have ranged from firing water cannons to ramming and, in a few cases, the use of lasers to damage the eyes of Filipino sailors on board.
Mr. Hegseth also singled out what he said is Beijing’s false claim to declaring a nature sanctuary on the disputed Scarborough reef in the Spratly Islands.
“You don’t put [weapons] platforms on a nature preserve,” he said, calling the Chinese effort “yet another attempt to coerce new and advance territorial claims at your expense.”
The Chinese provocative actions in the sea, he said, demonstrate a lack of respect for regional nations, “challenging and threatening territorial sovereignty.”
“China sweeping territorial and maritime claims in the South China Sea fly in the face of their commitments to resolve things peacefully,” Mr. Hegseth said.
Earlier Saturday, Mr. Hegseth joined with Philippine National Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro in announcing a task force aimed at deterring Chinese coercion in the South China Sea.
“We’re publicly announcing the Task Force Philippines, here with you today, which will be another step in our cooperation. Increasing interoperability, exercising and preparedness for contingencies―so that we can decisively respond to crisis or aggression and reestablish deterrence in the South China Sea,” Mr. Hegseth said.
Asked about a news report that the U.S. military is preparing to conduct a show of force in the South China Sea, possibly the firing of a missile from the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, Mr. Hegseth said he is in close coordination with Indo-Pacific Command’s Adm. Sam Paparo “ensuring we’ve got capabilities where we need them, when we need them.”
“But those specific reports are not in keeping with what’s happening right now,” he said. “We’re always prepared for eventualities and what may or may not happen, to ensure we’re strongly postured and working with our partners in the Philippines,”
“We’ve got lots of options and lots of capabilities in the region, but ultimately, we’re not going to reveal precisely what we may or may not do.”
The recent summit in South Korea between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, and his meeting between Adm. Dong, the Chinese defense minister is a welcome dialogue with the People’s Liberation Army.
Despite the dialogue, the U.S. is watching China’s actions very closely.
“We seek peace. We do not seek conflict, but we must ensure that China is not seeking to dominate you or anybody else as ASEAN members, we urge that this group continue to work toward that code of conduct in the South China Sea, remembering that a code without the ability to back it up with action can just mean empty words,” he said.
ASEAN plans joint military exercises next year and the association need to work with the U.S. military to develop joint capabilities that can be used to respond to Chinese aggression.
The cooperation will include monitoring Chinese maritime conduct and developing “tools that allow us to respond quickly to actions that threaten sovereignty,” he said.
Mr. Hegseth said he looked forward to hearing the defense ministers’ view and noted that Mr. Trump’s America first policies do not mean America alone.
“We are the strength department of peace through strength,” he said.
“The more we work together, the more we exercise together and operate together, the more stability we will achieve.”
Eleven ministers from ASEAN took part in the session. They included representatives from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and recently added Timor-Leste.
Throughout the three-day meeting known as ASEAN plus for the additional states taking part, Mr. Hegseth held talks with key allies, including defense leaders from Malaysia, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, and Japan.
From Malaysia, Mr. Hegseth travels to Vietnam on Sunday before moving on to South Korea for defense consultative talks.
• Bill Gertz can be reached at bgertz@washingtontimes.com.
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