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US Defense Chief Warns of ‘Imminent’ Chinese Threat to Taiwan, Urges Asia-Pacific Defence Boost

Regional governments balance US calls for higher defence budgets with efforts to maintain strategic independence as economic competition with China intensifies.

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U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth delivers his speech during 22nd Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore,Saturday, May 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
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ON CAM: HEGSETH's 'HUMILIATE OR...' MESSAGE; CHINA's PANICKY REACTION

Overview

  • At the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said China’s military is rehearsing for a Taiwan invasion and pressed allies to match NATO’s 5 percent GDP spending target.
  • China’s Foreign Ministry denounced Hegseth’s speech as a Cold War-style provocation and accused the United States of stoking tensions in the Asia-Pacific.
  • Australia committed an extra A$10 billion over four years for defence and confirmed that AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine deliveries remain on track.
  • Philippines Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro and EU diplomat Kaja Kallas asserted their nations’ strategic agency and rejected being treated as pawns in the US-China rivalry.
  • Beijing sent a lower-level delegation to the summit, foregoing its defence minister for the first time in years as mistrust with Washington deepens.