US urges ASEAN to be firm in countering China in the South China Sea
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — U.S. 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 U.S. concern…
