Overview
- U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth opened the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore by pledging to deter China through strengthened alliances and military resolve.
- A senior U.S. defense official confirmed that the Pentagon is considering calibrating the 28,500-strong U.S. Forces Korea deployment to reflect evolving Indo-Pacific security needs.
- Hegseth is set to deliver a plenary address Saturday outlining America’s vision for no-conflict deterrence and the expansion of its Indo-Pacific defense posture.
- On the sidelines, he will convene a four-way meeting with Australia, Japan and the Philippines to coordinate joint exercises, intelligence sharing and regional cooperation.
- China’s defense minister Dong Jun will not attend this year’s forum, with Beijing sending a lower-level PLA National Defense University delegation instead.