Tessa WongAsia Digital Reporter, Shangri-La Dialogue, Singapore
Reuters
The US military is not “turning its back” on Asia while fulfilling its “global obligations” such as the war in Iran, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told a major regional defense forum in Singapore.
Hegseth sought to reassure Asia-Pacific allies of US commitment to the region, including reaching arms deals following the suspension of Taiwan’s arms program – while reiterating his calls for Asian partners to spend more on defense.
While highlighting the threat of China’s military buildup in the region, Hegseth also said the United States wanted to avoid “unnecessary confrontation.”
Hegseth was speaking weeks after Donald Trump held positive talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.
At Saturday’s Shangri-La Dialogue, Japan’s defense minister asked Hegseth to address concerns about U.S. involvement. Shinjiro Koizumi said “some countries may underestimate” this level of commitment and want to “drive a wedge” between the United States and its allies.
Hegseth responded that part of the U.S. national defense strategy is about “projecting power” in the Pacific and working with allies.
“People want to confuse the fact that we have global obligations with turning our back on this region,” he said, denying that this was the case.
“We can do two things at once,” he insisted, saying the United States was working “quietly but very firmly” with its allies with a “substantial and serious approach” in the Pacific, while respecting “global obligations to ensure that, for example, Iran does not acquire nuclear weapons.”
Hegseth said he would “dramatically decouple the two” issues, insisting that the United States was in a “very good position… a very strong position” in terms of its overall munitions stockpile and the ability to produce more if necessary.
In his speech, Hegseth highlighted the United States’ “strong, calm and clear” approach to the region – its ability to wield a “big stick” but “speak softly.”
At the heart of this approach was more weapons, he insisted, instead of “vacuous globalist rhetoric about a rules-based international order”.
“Rules are great, but if you can’t back them up with hard force, they’re not worth the paper they’re written on,” he said. “We don’t need more conferences, we need more combat power…less Shangri-La dialogue, more ships and more submarines.”
His comments came hours after Vietnamese President To Lam called for more dialogue to resolve tensions in the region, in the opening speech to the defense summit.
Reiterating a demand he made in his speech last year, Hegseth called on Asian allies to spend more on defense, setting a target of 3.5 percent of their GDP.
He praised countries that have increased military spending and cooperation with the United States in recent months, including South Korea, Japan, Australia and the Philippines.
Hegseth also criticized “freeloaders”, labeling New Zealand as such in response to a later question, while warning that “Europe and NATO have important decisions to make”.
Speaking weeks after the Xi-Trump summit, during which Xi warned that Taiwan was the biggest problem between the two countries, Hegseth had a noticeably softer tone toward China and only mentioned Taiwan in response to a question.
This year, Hegseth said that while there is “legitimate concern about China’s historic military buildup,” the United States also understands that its allies in Asia “do not seek constant escalation” and instead want a balance of power “in which no state, including China, can impose hegemony.”
The United States wants “a truly stable balance” and wants to “preserve the conditions that have long guaranteed peace and prosperity in this region,” he added. “We are not approaching this challenge with unnecessary confrontation but with a measured and deliberate posture of strength.”
The forum, organized by the International Institute for Strategic Studies think tank, has traditionally had the United States and China as pillars. It is seen as a key mechanism for Asian countries to conduct direct negotiations on defense and security with superpowers.
But this is the second year in a row that China has refused to send its defense minister, choosing instead to send a lower-level delegation. Some have interpreted this as a snub to the forum, while others see it as China avoiding publicly opposing the United States as the two rival powers vie for influence in the region.
