SINGAPORE (Dispatches) – U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned on Saturday that the ‘threat’ from China was real and potentially imminent as he pushed allies in the Indo-Pacific to spend more on their own military needs.
Hegseth, speaking for the first time at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Asia’s premier forum for defense leaders, militaries and diplomats, underlined that the Indo-Pacific region was a priority for the Trump administration.
“There’s no reason to sugar coat it. The threat China poses is real, and it could be imminent,” Hegseth said, in some of his strongest comments on China since he took office in January. He added that any attempt by China to conquer Taiwan “would result in devastating consequences for the Indo-Pacific and the world”, and echoed Trump’s comment that China will not invade Taiwan on the president’s watch.
China views Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to “reunify” with the island. It has stepped up military and political pressure to assert those claims, including increasing the intensity of war games around Taiwan.
“It has to be clear to all that Beijing is credibly preparing to potentially use military force to alter the balance of power in the Indo Pacific,” Hegseth said.
But his comments on allies needing to increase spending is likely to cause consternation amongst partners, even though experts said Hegseth would face a relatively friendly audience in Singapore. China’s Defense Minister Dong Jun has decided to skip the major Asian security forum and Beijing has sent only an academic delegation.
Hegseth has previously taken aim at allies in Europe for not spending more on their own defense. In February, he warned Europe against treating America like a “sucker” while addressing a press conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
On Friday, while delivering the keynote address at the Shangri-La Dialogue, French President Emmanuel Macron said Hegseth was justified in asking Europe to increase its own military spending.
“It’s hard to believe, a little bit, after some trips to Europe that I’m saying this, but thanks to President Trump, Asian allies should look to countries in Europe as a new found example,” Hegseth said.
“NATO members are pledging to spend 5% of their GDP on defense, even Germany. So it doesn’t make sense for countries in Europe to do that while key allies in Asia spend less on defense in the face of an even more formidable threat.”
Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans said it was important to have Hegseth acknowledge that European countries were stepping up.
“It was for me maybe the first time or one of the first times I heard the U.S administration acknowledge this explicitly,” Brekelmans said, referring to Hegseth’s comments.
U.S. Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth, who is co-leading a bi-partisan delegation to the Shangri-la Dialogue, said it was noteworthy that Hegseth emphasized that the United States was committed to the region, but his language on allies was not helpful.
“I thought it was patronizing of our friends in the Indo-Pacific in particular,” Duckworth said.