WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth urged Indo-Pacific allies Saturday to up their defense spending — but assured them the US has their back as they face an “imminent” threat from China.
In a keynote address at a security summit in Singapore, the Pentagon chief urged the allies to do their part in spending up to 5% of their GDP on bolstering security, while also noting that Chinese President Xi Jinping “has ordered his military to be capable of invading Taiwan by 2027.”
“Beijing is credibly preparing to potentially use military force to alter the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific,” Hegseth said at the Shangri-La Dialogue.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth delivered a speech during the 22nd Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore on Saturday. AP“Let me be clear: any attempt by Communist China to conquer Taiwan by force would result in devastating consequences for the Indo-Pacific and the world,” he added.
“There’s no reason to sugarcoat it. The threat China poses is real. And it could be imminent. We hope not, but certainly could be.”
China has already been conducting military drills to test a possible blockade of Taiwan and has constructed man-made islands in the South China Sea for new missile outposts.
The US has long held a policy of strategic ambiguity with respect to Taiwan’s self-governance, while the island’s government has denied claims of Beijing sovereignty over it.
Hegseth attended a trilateral meeting between Japan, the US, and Australia at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore on Saturday. REUTERSThe International Institute for Security Studies hosted officials from nearly 50 countries at the global security conference.
“Reality is that there is no effective balance of power in this region absent the United States, but we cannot leave it to the United States alone,” Australia’s Defense Minister Richard Marles said following Hegseth’s remarks.
European Commission vice president Kaja Kallas also pointed to Russia, China, and North Korea having “interlinked” priorities that required a unified response.
Hegseth was greeted on Saturday by his Singaporean counterpart, Chan Chun Sing, at a ministerial roundtable. AFP via Getty Images
Hegseth and Japan’s Defense Minister Gen Nakatani briefly spoke during the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue security summit. REUTERSHegseth had pulled a Patriot missile defense battalion out of the Indo-Pacific in recent months to strike back at Houthi terrorists in Yemen.
“Ultimately, a strong, resolute and capable network of allies and partners is our key strategic advantage,” he said.
“China envies what we have together, and it sees what we can collectively bring to bear on defense, but it’s up to all of us to ensure that we live up to that potential by investing.”
Hegseth said Washington will bolster its defenses overseas to counter what the Pentagon sees as rapidly developing threats by Beijing. REUTERSElsewhere, Hegseth called out China for trying to exercise influence over the Panama Canal and cautioned against nations having too much “economic dependence” on Beijing.
President Trump’s defense chief had vowed last month to “take back” the key shipping lane by allowing US warships to travel freely through it.
“We’re opening our arms to countries across the spectrum — traditional allies, non-traditional allies,” Hegseth said. APBoth China and the US have cut their tariff rates to 10% and 30% on each other, respectively, but Trump erupted in a Truth Social post Friday that Beijing had “totally violated” the terms of that trade agreement.
“The shock and disruption from the high tariffs has been costly and destabilizing,” Marles admitted.
China’s defense minister, Dong Jun, was not at the conference, though lower-level officials from Beijing attended.
