US calls for Asian allies to increased defense measures against China

US calls for Asian allies to increased defense measures against China

The US defense minister Pete Hegseth said a serious warning to the Asia-Pacific region on Saturday: China's efforts with regard to Taiwan are a threat to global peace and the stability, which requires that "our Allies and partners make their contribution to defense."

concrete threat from China

"There is no reason to gloss over that. The threat that china represents is real. And it could be imminent," said Hegseth in a speech at the Shangri-la dialog, the leading defense forum in Asia. He pointed out that Beijing was credibly prepared to use military violence in order to change the equilibrium of power in the Indopazific. The Volksfürungsmarme (PLA) train daily for possible military actions against Taiwan.

China's military preparations

The Chinese head of state Xi Jinping had ordered that his military would have to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027 - a democratic island with 23 million inhabitants that the China Communist Party claims as its territory, even though it never prevailed over the island.

"The PLA is building the necessary military skills, trains daily and rehearses for an emergency," says Hegseth, who has expressed some of his sharpest comments against China since he took office in January. He emphasized that US President Donald Trump had promised not to drop Taiwan under his supervision on China, and asked the US allies and partners in the region to stand together against Beijing, both in terms of Taiwan and other regional conflicts in which China aggressively pursues his aggressa, as in the South Chinese Sea.

call for defense cooperation

"China's behavior towards his neighbors and the world is a wake-up call. And an urgent one," said the US defense minister. But he made it clear that the United States could not ward off the threat of China alone and called on other nations to offer "reinforcement" in resistance to Beijing. "We are calling - and insisting - that our Allies and Partners contribute to defense," he said.

increase in defense spending

Hegseth encouraged the Asian countries to increase their defense spending and referred to NATO allies who have increased their expenses to 5% of gross domestic product. "So it is not understandable that countries in Europe do this, while important allies in Asia, in view of an even more threatening challenge, spend less than silence from North Korea, less for the defense," he said.

conflict prevention and regional stability

Although Hegseth made it clear that Washington was not looking for a conflict with China, he emphasized that the Trump administration would not accept any aggression from Beijing. "We are not being pushed out of this critical region, and we will not allow our Allies be subordinate and intimidated," said his words.

tense relationship between Washington and Beijing

Hegseth's speech contributes to the tense relationship between Washington and Beijing. China has opposed America's efforts to consolidate its alliances in recent years and to tighten the defense strategy in Asia. The economic tensions have also reached a historical level this year after Trump has levied tariffs in China, which led to a tit-for act between the two countries in which the tariffs climbed to more than 100% for the goods of the respective country.

Shangri-la-dialog 2025

The annual Shangri-la dialogue in Singapore was in the past a place where defense leaders from the USA and China could meet on the side and promote at least a minimal dialogue between the two opponents. However, no such meeting is expected this year. China announced on Thursday that it would only send a low-age delegation from its National Defense University to Shangri-La instead of his Minister of Defense, who has spoken in the last five forums.

When the International Institute for Strategic Studies, which sponsors the event, released a list of speakers on Friday evening, the usual slot for a Chinese representative who was supposed to speak at 8:30 a.m. At a press conference of the Chinese Ministry of Defense on Thursday, a spokesman gave a question of why Beijing did not send his defense minister to the forum. China is "open to communication at all levels between the two sides," said the spokesman when he was asked with the US delegation after a possible meeting on the page.

outlook on the defense alliance

Hegseth's request to cooperate in the detriments in China's deterrent is an inheritance of the bid administration, but the Trump administration seems to be more determined than its predecessor. Before the conference in Singapore, there was widespread unity that the US role in Asia, in contrast to the unrest, which Trump caused in Europe-with threats to withdraw from NATO and to let Ukraine in the fight against the Russian invasion have remained largely consistent, with a focus on a policy of the containment of Chinese influence and support of Taiwans. Analyst noticed that the military exercises conducted by the USA, especially those with important allies such as Japan, Australia, the Philippines and South Korea, were continued or even reinforced in 2025.