Indo-Pacific friends were reassured by US defence minister Pete Hegseth on Saturday that they won’t be left to deal with China’s growing military and economic stress alone. He even urged local partners to increase their own defence spending and readiness while speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue safety meeting in Singapore. We won’t try to hide the fact that China poses a genuine danger. And it’s possible to get right away,” Hegseth said. He claimed that China was constantly preparing for an conquest of Taiwan and cited Beijing’s military exercises that simulated a siege of the self-governing island, which China claims to possess. Hegseth noted that China has also developed its fast and area features and expanded its military appearance through man-made islands in the South China Sea. The US is now strengthening its own” Golden Dome” weapon mechanisms in response. He also cited China’s growing interests in Latin America, particularly its efforts to expand its influence over the Panama Canal. He urged Indo-Pacific countries to make more of their own safety, making reference to the 5 % of GDP that Western allies are required to undertake to defence investing. Hegseth was questioned about the latest redeployment of US military resources to various areas despite the US’s pledge to promote the Indo-Pacific. Coast Guard boats were rerouted to the US-Mexico borders while a Patriot missile defence regiment was recently relocated from the Indo-Pacific to the Middle East. Hegseth defended the choice, citing the need to respond to illegal immigration and Houthi missile strikes, but emphasized that friends must bear the costs. Our main strategic advantage is unfortunately a strong, determined, and ready network of allies and partners, he said. He also warned against local governments from requesting US defense protection if they rely on China for economic reasons. He claimed that China’s economic dependency only makes their malign influence worse and makes our security decision-making environment more difficult in times of tension. This year, China made its security minister’s standard presence without bringing a lower-level committee to the conference. Hegseth acknowledged the presence and promised to keep in touch with interested parties in the area. He added that intellectual position would be a requirement for the US method. ” We’re opening our arms to nations all over the spectrum — standard allies and non-traditional friends,” he said. The Trump administration is strengthening security relations in the Middle East and is finding it difficult to balance military agreements between regions, according to Hagseth’s remarks.
