Overview

• At the Shangri-La Dialogue, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth asserted that China conducts daily drills preparing for a potential invasion of Taiwan and may imminently use military force in the Asia-Pacific.
• Hegseth accused Beijing of seeking regional dominance through credible preparations to alter the balance of power around Taiwan.
• Washington has strengthened military cooperation with Japan, the Philippines and India and urged these partners to boost their defense spending.
• China’s decision to send no senior delegate to the forum for the first time since 2019 underscored its diplomatic protest.
• Beijing criticized French President Emmanuel Macron’s comparison of a possible Taiwan invasion to Russia’s actions in Ukraine as unacceptable.