Pentagon chief warns of imminent China threat

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warns that the threat from China was real and potentially imminent as he pushed allies in the Indo-Pacific to spend more on their own defense needs.

Hegseth, speaking for the first time at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Asia’s premier forum for defense leaders, militaries and diplomats, underlines that the Indo-Pacific region was a priority for the Trump administration.

“There’s no reason to sugarcoat it. The threat China poses is real, and it could be imminent,” Hegseth says, in some of his strongest comments on the Communist nation since he took office in January. He adds that any attempt by China to conquer Taiwan “would result in devastating consequences for the Indo-Pacific and the world,” and echoes Trump’s comment that China will not invade Taiwan on the president’s watch.

China views Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to “reunify” with the democratic and separately governed island, by force if necessary. It has stepped up military and political pressure to assert those claims, including increasing the intensity of war games around Taiwan.

Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, saying only the island’s people can decide their future.

“It has to be clear to all that Beijing is credibly preparing to potentially use military force to alter the balance of power in the Indo Pacific,” Hegseth says.