China’s Defence Minister Dong Jun to miss Asean defence talks as fifth plenum convenes

China’s Defence Minister Dong Jun will skip this week’s meeting of Southeast Asian defence chiefs and their dialogue partners in Cebu, with Beijing instead sending its defence attache in the Philippines.

Dong has attended the Asean Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) for the past two years. This year’s ADMM and ADMM-Plus, scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, coincide with a major Communist Party meeting known as the fifth plenum, which is running in Beijing from Monday to Thursday.

While Beijing has not given a reason for Dong’s absence from the regional defence meeting, he is expected to attend the fifth plenum as a member of the Central Committee.

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The ADMM-Plus brings together defence ministers from Asean’s 11 member states and eight dialogue partners: Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea and the United States. Launched in 2010, the expanded forum provides a platform for regional defence dialogue and cooperation.

China’s defence ministry said on Tuesday its defence attache at the Chinese embassy in the Philippines would represent Beijing at the gathering to exchange views with other parties on dialogue, mutual understanding and trust, and reaffirm China’s support for Asean centrality in the regional architecture.

Dong attended the ADMM-Plus meeting in 2024 and 2025, after becoming defence minister in December 2023.

According to a statement from the Pentagon, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth is due to attend the meeting and hold bilateral and multilateral meetings to “strengthen deterrence, advance key alliances and partnerships, and expand burden-sharing across the region”.

It said Hegseth’s visit was intended to reaffirm Washington’s commitment to “peace through strength” in the Pacific.

The meeting comes against a backdrop of persistent tensions between Beijing and Manila over competing claims in the South China Sea, where Chinese and Philippine coastguard vessels have repeatedly confronted each other in recent years.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said on Monday that ADMM-Plus should play a positive role in strengthening dialogue, enhancing mutual trust and promoting cooperation among regional countries.

“We firmly oppose any forces misusing public platforms for private ends, and hijacking Asean to stir up trouble,” Guo said at a regular press briefing.

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Xinhua said on Monday that the main agenda for the plenum included a work report by the Politburo to the Central Committee and the adoption of a document aimed at “deepening party self-governance”.

Following the downfall of Central Military Commission vice-chairman Zhang Youxia and commission member Liu Zhenli this year, only two members remain on the seven-member commission, including Chinese President Xi Jinping.