SINGAPORE: US Defence 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 defence needs.

Hegseth, speaking for the first time at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Asia’s premier forum for defence 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 the Communist nation 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 democratic and separately governed island, by force if necessary. It has stepped up military and political pressure to assert those claims, including increasing the intensity of war games around Taiwan.

Beijing says comments constitute ‘provocation and instigation’

Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, saying only the island’s people can decide their future.

“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.

China said the comments “were steeped in provocations and instigation”. “Mr. Hegseth repeatedly smeared and attacked China and relentlessly played up the so-called ‘China threat’,” the Chinese embassy in Singapore said on its Facebook page. “As a matter of fact, the US itself is the biggest ‘troublemaker’ for regional peace and stability.”

Hegseth’s comments on allies needing to increase spending is likely to cause consternation amongst partners, even though experts said he faced a relatively friendly audience in Singapore.

China’s Defence 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 defence.

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 defence spending.

Europe stepping up

“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 per cent of their GDP on defence, even Germany. So it doesn’t make sense for countries in Europe to do that while key allies in Asia spend less on defence in the face of an even more formidable threat, not to mention North Korea.” Dutch Defence 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 US administration acknowledge this explicitly,” Brekelmans said, referring to Hegseth’s comments.

Published in Dawn, June 1st, 2025