Hegseth softens – U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told allies at the Shangri-La conference that Washington remains committed to the Pacific and that there was “no change in our status” toward Taiwan, even as he softened language he used last year describing China’s intentio
SINGAPORE — Pete Hegseth stepped to the microphone at the Shangri-La defense conference on Saturday and tried to calm a familiar tension: how strongly the United States should speak about China, and how clearly it should reassure the allies who listen for every word.
He told a group of world leaders, diplomats and top security officials that the region “has profound implications for U.S. security and prosperity” and that Washington’s priority was to “achieve a lasting and favorable balance of power in the Pacific.”
It was Hegseth’s second time addressing the forum. Last year, his warnings drew the ire of Beijing. He said then that China was not only building its military forces for Taiwan but “actively training for it, every day,” pointing to Taiwan and what he described as China’s aggressive stance.
This year’s meeting comes only about two weeks after President Donald Trump visited Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing. where Trump called Xi a “great leader” and said the two were heading toward a “fantastic future together.” Hegseth. who was with Trump in Beijing. said the two leaders agreed that China and the U.S. should “build a constructive relationship of strategic stability. based on fairness and reciprocity. ” while “vigorously protect[ing] our respective interests” and pursuing “practical. mutually beneficial agreements where our interests align.”.
Still, he did not blur the underlying concern. Hegseth said it remained an American priority to ensure China is not allowed to dominate the Indo-Pacific. “There is rightful alarm regarding China’s historic military buildup and the expansion of its military activities in the region and beyond. ” he said.
“The security environment” he described was one in which a “Pacific dominated by any hegemon would unravel the regional balance of power and undermine the equilibrium we all seek to preserve. ” words that landed with a different rhythm than last year’s more pointed language about preparation for Taiwan.
The Taiwan question hung over the conference. After Trump met Xi. the American president raised doubts about Washington’s willingness to defend Taiwan. describing a new $14 billion arms package that he has yet to greenlight as “a very good negotiating chip for us” with China. China claims the democratic, self-governing island as its own, and Xi has not ruled out using force to take it.
Under U.S. law, the U.S. is required to help provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, but it follows a policy of “strategic ambiguity” on whether it would intervene militarily if China were to attack.
At the Shangri-La forum, Hegseth told the audience there was “no change in our status” toward Taiwan, but he declined to comment on the arms package. “Any decision about future Taiwan arms sales, as the president said, will rest with him,” he said.
He also pressed for a shift in how allies view the alliance. The speech underscored the Trump administration’s insistence that allies increase defense spending, saying “we need partners, not protectorates.”
Hegseth praised several countries in Asia for their efforts, while reiterating criticism of European allies without naming specific countries. He suggested some had become “distracted by empty globalist rhetoric about the rules-based international order. ” and said the bedrock of durable partnerships is not “idealistic values” but “the concrete alignment of national interests.”.
“When our interests diverge, we adjust pragmatically, without the drama or the moralizing,” he added. “I think Western Europe might take note — this is a mindset we fully embrace.”
The speech also sidestepped two other major flashpoints in U.S. foreign policy. Hegseth did not mention either the war in Ukraine or Iran war in his address. When asked about Iran, he said Trump had assured him that once negotiations with Tehran had concluded, “any deal will be a good deal.”
Pete Hegseth Shangri-La defense conference Pacific allies China rhetoric Taiwan status Trump Xi meeting $14 billion arms package strategic ambiguity Indo-Pacific balance of power European allies criticism Iran negotiations