SINGAPORE -- Defense ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will meet online on Tuesday to discuss regional security, with South China Sea tensions and recent Chinese moves expected to be high on the agenda.

The 10-member bloc will also hold an expanded meeting the next day with counterparts from eight key countries, including China, the U.S., Japan and India. Amid frosty ties between Beijing and Washington, the event marks an opportunity for the two powers and other players to discuss geopolitical issues.

Brunei, this year's ASEAN chair, released a brief statement on its Defense Ministry's website, saying it would host the virtual sessions over two days. It did not detail the topics up for discussion nor name the representatives for each country.

But Tuesday's talks are likely to include a planned Code of Conduct for managing disputes in the South China Sea, where China has overlapping claims with several Southeast Asian countries.

In a foreign ministers meeting last week, ASEAN and China agreed to expedite the resumption of negotiations on the code, halted by the pandemic.

The South China Sea has been a key subject at past ASEAN defense ministers meetings as well. At the previous one in December, the 10 countries issued a statement stressing the importance of promoting "maritime security, safety and freedom of navigation and overflight, and creating a conducive environment for peaceful settlement of disputes in the South China Sea."

They also called for "self-restraint in the conduct of activities that would complicate or escalate disputes," without naming a specific country.

But tensions in the sea have been rising in recent weeks. Malaysia earlier this month scrambled jets to intercept Chinese aircraft it accused of breaching its airspace. The Philippines has protested the persistent presence of Chinese vessels in its economic zone. Vietnam expanded its maritime forces . Even Indonesia, which does not have a direct dispute with China, has moved to bolster its navy.

Late on Monday, the Philippines said President Rodrigo Duterte was delaying the termination of its Visiting Forces Agreement with the U.S. for another six months, putting off the end of the key defense pact for a third time.

This is a challenging period for ASEAN. Many member countries are still grappling with the pandemic: Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines continue to report thousands of new cases a day, while vaccinations remain an uphill battle.

In addition, the bloc has been under pressure to resolve the violent crisis in Myanmar, after the Feb. 1 coup.

While asserting itself in the South China Sea, China -- which has recovered quickly from COVID-19 -- has also sought to shore up ties with ASEAN states by promising more vaccine aid.

Beijing's strategy in Southeast Asia is likely to be scrutinized on Wednesday when the ASEAN ministers meet their eight partners, which also include Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Russia. The meeting comes just days after the Group of Seven summit , where countering China was a major theme.

"We remain seriously concerned about the situation in the East and South China Seas and strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo and increase tensions," the G-7 communique said.

U.S. President Joe Biden has emphasized alliances in the Indo-Pacific region, centered on security. His administration has positioned the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad -- a loose grouping with Australia, India and Japan -- front and center.

For Washington, the ASEAN meeting will be another chance to seek collaboration and curb China's influence.

Officially called the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting Plus, the expanded discussions started in 2010 as a means of promoting dialogue and cooperation. Any statement that comes out of the meeting will be closely watched.

In the last meeting in December, the 18 countries adopted a joint declaration that stressed "the importance of freedom, openness, inclusiveness and respect for international law." This was seen as a veiled comment on the South China Sea issues.