US will 'stoutly defend' interests

The United States will "continue to stoutly defend its interests", Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told China in a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Dong Jun. Hegseth told the Chinese minister of national defence that the United States was concerned about China's activities in the South China Sea, and highlighted the importance of maintaining a balance of power in the Indo-Pacific region, Hegseth said in a post on X.