Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth criticized China’s increasingly “destabilizing” actions in the South China Sea on Nov. 1, calling on Southeast Asian countries to work closely with the United States to face Beijing’s aggression. Hegseth made the remarks while Hegseth Urges US–ASEAN Collaboration to Counter China in South China Sea
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth criticized China’s increasingly “destabilizing” actions in the South China Sea on Nov. 1, calling on Southeast Asian countries to work closely with the United States to face Beijing’s aggression. Hegseth made the remarks while 
News Analysis Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have signed an upgraded free trade pact with Beijing, a significant move amid intensifying U.S.–China rivalry that experts warn could expose the bloc to “origin washing” penalties,