(CTN News) – Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reminded Indo-Pacific allies Saturday that China’s military and economic power would be countered by increased defense spending.

In response to China’s Taiwan aggression, he said the Pentagon would boost U.S. defenses abroad. The US will defend the self-governing island, Beijing claims. China held many blockade drills.

In his keynote at the security conference in Singapore, Hegseth said, “The Chinese army is preparing for the real deal.” China is a major threat. It may happen soon. The Chinese delegation leader accused Hegseth of “groundlessness.”

Rear Adm. Hu Gangfeng, vice president of National Defense University, said, “Some of the claims are completely fabricated, some distort facts, and some are cases of a thief crying stop thief.'” The critic didn’t elaborate. He suspects conspiracies to sow discord in Asia-Pacific.

Hegseth claims China will invade Taiwan.

Experts consider 2027 a target rather than a war deadline because China has pledged to invade Taiwan. Due to China’s space and hypersonic capabilities, the US has had to deploy space-based “Golden Dome” missile defenses and build complex artificial islands in the South China Sea for new military installations.

In the Shangri-La Dialogue, hosted by the International Institute for Security Studies, Hegseth said China is “actively training for it every day,” not just arming itself to seize Taiwan.

Hegseth also criticized Beijing’s Panama Canal grab in Latin America. The Indo-Pacific nations must match Europe’s defense spending of 5% GDP.

Hegseth encourages everyone to donate.

After the speech, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas rejected Hegseth’s suggestion that European nations focus on domestic defense and hand over Indo-Pacific responsibility to the US. She believes Europe and Asia’s security is “extremely interconnected” because China supported Moscow and North Korea fought for Russia.

Are US Indo-Pacific goals unclear?

Hegseth reiterated previous administrations’ pledge to increase Indo-Pacific military presence for deterrence. The Obama and Biden administrations’ promises of a Pacific pivot and new military agreements have never materialized.

The U.S. redirected its military resources in the Indo-Pacific region to meet Middle East and European needs after the Gaza and Ukraine wars. Early in Trump’s presidency, this was true.

Using 73 military cargo planes, the Trump administration moved a Patriot missile defense battalion from the Indo-Pacific to the Middle East. Coast Guard ships that are returning safeguard the border between the United States and Mexico.

We asked Hegseth why the US withdrew its resources, even though it prioritized the Indo-Pacific. Despite not responding, he said reallocating funds was necessary to improve US immigration prevention and counter Yemeni Houthi missile strikes.

He added that the US would need allies to boost defense spending and preparations. “Our primary strategic advantage is a robust, resolute, and capable network of allies and partners,” it said. China asks how we can protect ourselves given our strength. We need prudent investments to reach our potential.

The middle Indo-Pacific nations have been negotiating with the US and China for years. Many view Beijing as a regional bully due to its claims about fisheries and other natural resources, despite being their main trading partner.

Hegseth advised against capturing the US and China militarily and economically.

“Our defense decision space becomes increasingly complex during periods of tension, and our economic dependence on China only serves to exacerbate their malevolent influence,” it said.

How would Hegseth reconcile that with Trump’s plan to impose high tariffs on most of the region? “My focus is on tank production, not trade.” Congressional delegate Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) worried about pressuring Shangri-La allies. Duckworth says the US doesn’t want people to choose between the US and China.

Hegseth agreed with Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles that the Indo-Pacific was a US strategic priority and that other nations should help.

“The United States is indispensable for the preservation of a balanced power dynamic in this region; however, we must not depend on it exclusively,” it says. Marles says Trump’s trade restrictions failed. “The shock and disruption caused by the high tariffs have been destabilizing and costly.”

China sends lower-level reps.

China’s defense minister, Dong Jun, skipped this year’s conference to protest President Trump’s unpredictable and aggressive tariff war. American delegates pledged to maximize his absence.

“We arrived earlier today,” Hegseth said. In case Asian coalitions like ASEAN disagreed with Washington, Hegseth told a Chinese delegate that the US would not be limited by “the confines of how previous administrations looked at this region.”

“We are welcoming nations from all corners of the globe, including traditional and non-traditional allies,” it said. According to him, U.S. support does not require local governments to adopt Western cultural or climate perspectives.

SOURCE: AP