SINGAPORE (AP) 鈥� U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth assured Pacific allies on Saturday that Washington remained committed to the region, but toned down previous comments calling China a threat.
Speaking to a group of world leaders, diplomats and top security officials at the Shangri-La defense conference in Singapore, Hegseth said that the region 鈥渉as profound implications for U.S. security and prosperity鈥� and that Washington’s priority was to 鈥渁chieve a lasting and favorable balance of power in the Pacific.鈥�
It was his second time addressing the forum, hosted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Last year, he by warning of rapidly developing threats from China, particularly its aggressive stance toward Taiwan. He said China is no longer just to take Taiwan, it鈥檚 鈥渁ctively training for it, every day.鈥�
This year, however, the meeting comes only about two weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump visited Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing, following which Trump called Xi and said that they were going to have a 鈥渇antastic future together.鈥�
Hegseth says China won’t be allowed to dominate the region
Hegseth, who was with Trump in Beijing, said the two leaders had agreed that China and the U.S. should 鈥渂uild a constructive relationship of strategic stability, based on fairness and reciprocity, reaffirming that while our nations will vigorously protect our respective interests, we can secure practical, mutually beneficial agreements where our interests align.鈥�
However, he said it was still an American priority to ensure that China is not allowed to dominate the Indo-Pacific.
鈥淭here is rightful alarm regarding China鈥檚 historic military buildup and the expansion of its military activities in the region and beyond,鈥� he said.
“We share a clear-eyed assessment of that security environment and a mutual understanding that a Pacific dominated by any hegemon would unravel the regional balance of power and undermine the equilibrium we all seek to preserve.鈥�
Later in the day, Chinese Maj. Gen. Meng Xiangqing praised Hegseth’s remarks about the meeting between Xi and Trump, saying the consensus the leaders reached 鈥渟hould provide strategic guidance for China-U.S. relations over the next three years and beyond.鈥�
鈥淒uring his meeting with President Trump, President Xi Jinping made it clear that such constructive strategic stability should be a positive form of stability centered on cooperation, a healthy form of stability in which competition remains within reasonable bounds, a normal state of stability in which differences are managed and kept under control, and a lasting form of stability that offers the prospect of peace,鈥� he said.
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, part of a congressional delegation to the conference, accused the Trump administration of 鈥渃ozying up鈥� to China.
鈥淚 worry that this administration is being distracted into wars that they鈥檝e started in other parts of the world at the expense of our commitment here in the Indo-Pacific,鈥� the Illinois Democrat told reporters on the sidelines.
鈥淚 am concerned that it seems like our president is entering into, you know, policies where he鈥檚 doing what Beijing wants him to do,鈥� she added.
After the meetings between Xi and Trump, the American president to defend Taiwan, calling a new $14 billion arms package that he has yet to greenlight 鈥渁 very good negotiating chip for us鈥� with China.
China claims the democratic self-governing island as its own, and Xi has not ruled out using force to take it. The U.S. is required by law to help provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, though follows a policy of 鈥渟trategic ambiguity鈥� on whether it would intervene militarily if China were to attack the island.
Hegseth told the forum that there was 鈥渘o change in our status鈥� toward Taiwan, but would not comment on the arms deal.
鈥淎ny decision about future Taiwan arms sales, as the president said, will rest with him,鈥� he said.
US praises countries that spent more on defense
He underscored the Trump administration’s insistence that allies increase defense spending, saying 鈥渨e need partners, not protectorates.鈥�
He lauded several countries in Asia for their efforts, while reiterating criticism of European allies, without naming names, who he suggested got 鈥渄istracted by empty globalist rhetoric about the rules-based international order.鈥�
鈥淥ur partners in Asia have long understood that the bedrock of a durable partnership is not based on idealistic values but on the concrete alignment of national interests,鈥� he said.
鈥淲hen our interests diverge, we adjust pragmatically, without the drama or the moralizing,鈥� he added. 鈥淚 think Western Europe might take note 鈥� this is a mindset we fully embrace.鈥�
Hegseth did not mention either the war in Ukraine or Iran war in his speech. When asked about Iran, he only said that Trump had assured him that when negotiations with Tehran had concluded, 鈥渁ny deal will be a good deal.鈥�
Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles, whose country was among those Hegseth praised for increased military spending, said that while the international rules-based order is not perfect, the 鈥渢ask before us, all of us, including the great powers, is the renovation of that order, not its dismemberment.鈥�
鈥淲hen the rules apply, smaller states have agency,鈥� Marles said in a speech that followed Hegseth’s. 鈥淲hen the rules yield to power, sovereignty becomes, as others have put it, the purview of the powerful, and no state in this room today, whatever its size, is well served by that outcome.鈥�
UK, US and Australia announce new undersea drone initiative
At an event held outside the conference, Hegseth, Marles and British Defense Secretary John Healey announced a new initiative in their AUKUS partnership, whose primary focus has been the development and construction of nuclear-powered submarines.
Under the so-called second pillar of AUKUS, the three said they would together invest in the development of improved capabilities for underwater drones.
鈥淭ogether we produce a range of cutting-edge sensors or weapons systems for undersea drones,鈥� Healey said, adding it will help detect threats including to underwater cables and pipelines.
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