U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin expressed regret Wednesday that his Chinese counterpart chose not to hold talks with him during meetings of Southeast Asian defense chiefs in Laos, calling it a setback for the entire region.

Representatives from the US, China, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea met their Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) counterparts Thursday in Laos for an annual meeting of defense chiefs from the bloc. The meeting kicked off Wednesday in Vientiane under the chairmanship of Laos, with meetings held on the sidelines of the event.

Southeast Asian defense chiefs and representatives are meeting in the Laotian capital for security talks at a time of increasing maritime disputes with China in the Asia-Pacific and as the transition to a new U.