STORY: :: U.S. Defense Secretary Hegseth warns of a China threat and urges Asian allies to up defense spending:: Singapore:: May 31, 2025:: Pete Hegseth, U.S. Secretary of Defense”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. We know. It’s public that (Chinese President) Xi (Jinping) has ordered his military to be capable of invading Taiwan by 2027. The PLA is building the military needed to do it, training for it everyday and rehearsing for the real deal. (U.S.) Admiral (Samuel) Paparo has spoken very clearly about this on multiple occasions. Again to be clear, any attempt by Communist China to conquer Taiwan by force would result in devastating consequences for the Indo-Pacific and the world.””NATO members are pledging to spend 5% of their GDP on defense, even Germany, so it doesn’t make sense for countries in Europe to do that while key allies in Asia spend less on defense in the face of an even more formidable threat, not to mention North Korea.”Hegseth, speaking for the first time at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, underlined that the Indo-Pacific region was a priority for the Trump administration.The Shangri-La Dialogue, which attracts top defense officials, senior military officers, diplomats, weapons makers and security analysts from around the globe, is taking place from Friday (May 30) to Sunday (June 1) in Singapore.Read More
Hegseth urges Asia to up defense spending citing China threat
