Pete Hegseth, America's secretary of war, gave a speech on his country's policy in Asia that omitted any mention of Taiwan. Last year he had warned a Chinese invasion of the self-governing island âcould be imminentâ and would have âdevastating consequencesâ
Hegseth said US-China relations are better than they have been in many years and praised the Xi-Trump talks in Beijing last month as "historic". He referred to China's "historic military build-up" and reaffirmed that the US strategy in the Pacific centred on "deterrence by denial" along the first island chain. Hegseth called on allies to spend at least 3.5 per cent of their GDP on defence and earn more on arms sales and industrial collaboration. He didn't mention Taiwan at all in his speech.
Pete Hegseth called for a "quiet" approach to security cooperation in the Asia Pacific. Relations between the U.S. and China are "better than they've been in many years" since President Donald Trump's visit to Beijing. China did not send its defense minister to the annual three-day Shangri-La Dialogues in Singapore.
The world faces challenges from "hegemonism" and "bloc confrontation" driven by certain countries, China's delegation to the Shangri-La Dialogue said on Saturday. Major General Meng Xiangqing made the comments during a special session on managing threats to strategic stability. Meng also used the session to respond to US Defence Secretary Pete Hegsethâs remarks earlier in the day.
Pete Hegseth is speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. He is the Pentagon chief and is leading a US delegation to the event. Last year he had warned of China's military build-up in the region. This year he is more conciliatory towards Beijing.
Defence ministers, military chiefs, diplomats and analysts are in Singapore this weekend for the Shangri-La Dialogue. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth is delivering a keynote speech in Singapore on Saturday morning. It is expected to address regional and global concerns including the US commitment in the Asia-Pacific and AI rivalry.
Dr. George Friedman is an internationally recognized geopolitical forecaster and strategist on international affairs. He is the founder and chairman of Geopolitical Futures and a New York Times bestselling author. His most popular book is The Next 100 Years. For almost 20 years he was the CEO and then chairman of Stratfor, a company he founded in 1996.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth made remarks on Taiwan at a top defense summit in Singapore on Saturday. The address came 15 days after Hegsetsh joined Trump on his state visit to China. Both sides framed the trip as an opportunity to reset the great-power relationship after years of tensions. China claims Taiwan as a rogue province and has not ruled out the use of force to achieve unification. Trump said he was putting a potential $14 billion arms package on hold.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth softened his tone towards China in his speech on Saturday to the Shangri-La defence forum. He did not repeatedly describe China as the primary threat. Trump has not yet approved a US$14 billion arms package for Taiwan.