Australia’s defence minister Richard Marles has said China’s military expansion is creating increasing pressure in Southeast Asia, as regional defence officials met in Cebu amid continuing maritime disputes and disagreement over Beijing’s participation in an ASEAN security forum.
Speaking on the sidelines of the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus, Marles described China’s expansion as “the biggest conventional military build-up” since the Second World War. He said Beijing had not explained the reason for the scale of its military development and that this was contributing to a more pressured regional environment.
“There’s not an explanation from China as to why it’s doing this, and all of that is creating the condition of pressure,” Australian defence minister Richard Marles said.
Marles said China’s increasingly assertive approach presented challenges for Australia and called for closer coordination among countries that share concerns about regional security. He also stressed the importance of preserving the rules governing international conduct, arguing that these rules provide smaller and middle-sized powers with greater room to protect their interests.
South China Sea tensions remain central
The discussions took place against a backdrop of repeated confrontations between China and the Philippines in parts of the South China Sea claimed by Manila. According to the report, the frequency and intensity of these encounters have increased over the past several years, making maritime security a central issue at the two-day ASEAN defence meetings and related discussions.
Australia had protested in July against China’s test of a nuclear-capable ballistic missile in the South Pacific, calling the launch provocative and destabilising. Marles’ latest comments place that protest within a broader Australian concern about China’s military activities and the effect they are having on regional security discussions.
- Richard Marles said China’s military expansion was creating a “condition of pressure” in Southeast Asia.
- He described the build-up as the largest conventional military expansion since the Second World War.
- South China Sea confrontations and a dispute over China’s participation in the ASEAN defence forum overshadowed the meetings.
Dispute over China’s participation
China’s attendance at the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus also became a point of contention. China’s Ministry of Defence accused the Philippines of obstructing its participation and violating what it called basic diplomatic protocols. Ministry spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang said unnamed Philippine politicians had created obstacles to China’s involvement in the meeting.
That allegation was made by China’s Ministry of Defence and was not independently established in the account. The dispute illustrates how diplomatic disagreements are increasingly overlapping with military concerns in Southeast Asia, where maritime claims, naval activity and defence partnerships are being discussed alongside formal regional security mechanisms.
At the same meetings, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth pledged support for Washington’s allies and partners in Southeast Asia. He said the United States would pursue practical cooperation in areas including maritime domain awareness, interoperability and cooperation among navies. The remarks came as regional governments examined how to maintain established rules and communication channels amid China’s expanding military presence.
