NEW DELHI, India — U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth spoke to Chinese and Indian officials at the ASEAN defense summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Friday, vowing to continue strong American engagement in the region.
In a post on X, he said he met with the Chinese National Defense Minister Adm. Dong Jun.
“It was a good and constructive meeting,” Hegseth said.
“I highlighted the importance of maintaining a balance of power in the Indo-Pacific and emphasized U.S. concerns about China’s activities in the South China Sea, around Taiwan, and towards U.S. allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific.”
Hegseth said the U.S. isn’t interested in conflict and wants “to stoutly defend its interests and ensure it has the capabilities in the region to do so.”
Hegseth signs a 10-year defense framework with New Delhi
In a separate post, Hegseth said he met with Minister of Defense of India Rajnath Singh and signed a 10-year defense framework between U.S. and India.
“This advances our defense partnership, a cornerstone for regional stability and deterrence,” he said. “We’re enhancing our coordination, info sharing, and tech cooperation. Our defense ties have never been stronger.”
Singh also wrote a post about the “fruitful meeting” with Hegseth.
“It is a signal of our growing strategic convergence and will herald a new decade of partnership,” Singh wrote.
“Defense will remain as a major pillar of our bilateral relations. Our partnership is critical for ensuring a free, open and rules-based Indo-Pacific region.”
U.S.-China relations
Despite the diplomatic momentum in this region, the U.S.’s lack of progress in striking a trade deal with India looms in the background.
As Reuters reported, this marked the first meeting between Hegseth and Singh since the Trump White House levied a 50% tariff on Indian exports into the U.S. in an attempt to pressure India to stop buying Russian oil.
China made ample progress on trade during President Donald Trump’s visit, while India’s trade deal remains in the works. It’s worth noting that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was absent from the ASEAN Leaders Summit. He was still celebrating Diwali, as per Bloomberg.
During his final stop on his Asia trip, Trump spoke to his Chinese counterpart President Xi Jinping and rated the talks between Washington and Beijing a “12 on a scale of one to 10.”
Trump agreed to drop fentanyl tariffs on China from 20% to 10%, effective immediately.
In return, China offered to reopen its doors to exporting rare earth minerals for a year after it imposed strict export controls on the materials.
China also agreed to purchase American-produced soybeans and work with Trump to end the war in Ukraine, as the Deseret News reported.