Washington accuses China of preparing to "use force" in Asia-Pacific
The Pentagon chief urged his allies in the region on Saturday to increase their defense spending, as Beijing "trains every day" for an invasion of Taiwan.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Saturday, May 31, that China was preparing "to potentially use military force" in the Asia-Pacific region, a region Washington has made its "priority theater." "The threat from China is real and could be imminent," he said at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Asia's largest security and defense forum. He added that Beijing "wants to dominate and control" the region and is "training every day" for an invasion of Taiwan.
Hegseth said Beijing was "clearly and credibly preparing to potentially use military force to shift the balance of power" in the Asia-Pacific. In this context, the United States has made the region its "priority theater" and is "reorienting (its strategy, editor's note) to deter any aggression by communist China," he said, adding that Washington has stepped up cooperation with Japan and the Philippines, its traditional allies in the region, and is strengthening its relations with India. "America is proud to be back in the Indo-Pacific, and we are here to stay," he said.
But for their part, "the United States' allies in the Indo-Pacific can and must rapidly increase their own defense capabilities," he stressed, citing Europe as an example. "It's a little hard to believe (...) that I can say this, but thanks to President Trump, our Asian allies and partners should take inspiration from European countries, a brand new example" in this area, he declared. "Deterrence is not cheap," he recalled. Several European countries, starting with Germany, have announced a drastic increase in their military budgets to bring them to 5% of their GDP in the face of US President Donald Trump's threat to withdraw from European defense via NATO.
The Shangri-La Dialogue forum, now in its 22nd year, brings together officials from across Asia and the rest of the world in the city-state of Singapore each year. In the past, it has regularly provided an opportunity for leaders of rival countries to meet. For the first time since 2019, however, China announced it would not send a high-level official. Opening Friday with a speech by French President Emmanuel Macron, a first for a European representative, the forum runs until Sunday.
lefigaro
