US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth described India as a critical anchor for maintaining balance of power in the Indo-Pacific during his speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.
Speaking on Saturday at the Shangri-La Dialogue, Hegseth said a powerful India acting in its own self-interest advances the shared goal of regional balance. He announced US commitment to pursue co-production of Javelin anti-tank guided munitions with India and praised New Delhi’s military modernization and logistics capacity to support US Navy vessels.
Hegseth stressed that no state, including China, should impose hegemony in the region. He urged Asian allies to increase defence spending and noted that the era of the United States subsidising the defence of wealthy nations is over.
On India-Pakistan relations, Hegseth repeated President Donald Trump’s claim of brokering last year’s ceasefire. Responding to a question on India’s Agni missile test, he said both sides see understandable threats from each other but the US is not pointing a finger at either country.
