US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth took a milder approach in his speech at the Shangri-La forum, avoiding direct references to China as a threat unlike his remarks last year.
Hegseth criticised China’s military build-up but did not label it the primary threat. He stated that the United States and the wider Pacific region share a clear-eyed assessment of the security environment.
He added that a Pacific dominated by any hegemon would unravel the regional balance of power. The secretary also said the US does not approach the challenge with needless confrontation but with a posture of measured and deliberate strength.
Last year at the same event Hegseth described the threat China poses as real and noted that Xi had ordered the People’s Liberation Army to be capable of attacking Taiwan by 2027. The shift follows a meeting between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump.
