Hegseth says us will stand by indo-pacific allies against ‘imminent’ threat of china

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. “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.” EXPLORE MORE 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. The

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 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.” Elsewhere, 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. Both 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.