{"id":1088,"date":"2026-05-30T14:42:34","date_gmt":"2026-05-30T14:42:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=1088"},"modified":"2026-05-30T14:42:34","modified_gmt":"2026-05-30T14:42:34","slug":"hegseth-urges-asian-leaders-to-boost-military-spending-against-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=1088","title":{"rendered":"Hegseth urges Asian leaders to boost military spending against China"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

SINGAPORE \u2014 Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called on allies in Asia to ramp up military spending to counter China’s “historic military buildup” but also did not mention Taiwan in his speech on Saturday at the Shangri-La Dialogue, a key annual regional defense summit in Singapore.<\/p>

Read more Carcass of Timmy the humpback whale brought to shore in Denmark<\/a><\/p>

\n
\n\n
\n
\"FILE<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n
\n

World <\/h3>\n

The aftermath of Trump-Xi summit: comparing U.S. and China announcements<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n

Hegseth’s appearance comes just over two weeks after President Donald Trump held a summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing that both sides hailed as a success.<\/p>

Hegseth said U.S.-China relations are “better than they’ve been in many years” but that there is “rightful alarm” about China’s military activities in the region and beyond.<\/p>

“A Pacific dominated by any hegemon would unravel the regional balance of power and undermine the equilibrium we all seek to preserve,” Hegseth said to a room full of military, defense officials and diplomats.<\/p>\n

This is the defense secretary’s second appearance at the defense forum in Asia.<\/p>

Last year he said China “seeks to be a hegemonic power in Asia” that “hopes to dominate and control too many parts of this vibrant and vital region.” He also notably struck a more defiant tone in criticizing Beijing’s harassment on Taiwan, a self-governing island Beijing claims as its own.<\/p>

“Every day you see it. China’s military harasses Taiwan,” he said in his 2025 speech.<\/p>

After Trump’s recent trip to Beijing, the president sparked concern the U.S. would pull back support of Taiwan. He commented that arms sales to Taiwan is a “very good negotiating chip” with China. Days later, a senior U.S. official said arms sales to Taiwan have been paused due to the war in Iran.<\/p>

People in the region wanted clarity on Taiwan and Iran but “[Hegseth’s speech] was really light on substance,” according to Ankit Panda, senior fellow in the nuclear policy program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace who was in the audience listening to Hegseth’s speech.<\/p>

When asked by the audience to comment on Taiwan, Hegseth downplayed concerns and said the U.S. had enough weapons in stock. He said future arms sales to Taiwan rests solely with President Trump but that “there has been no change in our status.”<\/p>\n

On the Middle East conflict, Hegseth repeated what President Trump had said earlier, that the U.S. would not make a deal unless it is a good one that ensures Iran doesn’t get a nuclear weapon.<\/p>

\n
\n\n
\n
\"How<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n
\n

State of the World from NPR <\/h3>\n

How have global relationships with the U.S. changed in the last year?<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n

Hegseth said the U.S. is ready to resume strikes on Iran if no deal is reached. There were some U.S. strikes last week.<\/p>

Read more Pride celebrations struggle as corporate sponsorships dry up<\/a><\/p>

And while Hegseth touted better U.S.-China relations, longer term the two countries are still strategic competitors.<\/p>

Countries in the rest of the region, especially smaller ones in Southeast Asia, feel caught between the two big powers.<\/p>

In a keynote speech at the forum on Friday, Vietnam’s President To Lam said one of the biggest risks is “unchecked competition” where “might makes it right.”<\/p>

\n
\n\n
\n
\"The<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n
\n

State of the World from NPR <\/h3>\n

The lasting effects of Trump’s tariff war with China<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n

“I think the pathway to avoiding conflict between these two countries remains entirely unclear, especially when so much of the secretary’s speech leans into themes like lethality, dominance,” Panda said.<\/p>

He said Hegseth did not offer a clear vision on how the U.S. expects to arrive at “what he’s called a decent peace with China.”<\/p>

China did not send its defense minister for the second year in a row to the forum. Instead it sent a lower level delegation of military experts and scholars.<\/p>

The defense secretary’s speech was “more moderate” on U.S.-China relations compared to his first one at last year’s Shangri-La Dialogue, according to Zhou Bo, a retired senior colonel of the Chinese air force and senior fellow at the Center for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University in Beijing.<\/p>

\n
\n\n
\n
\"In<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n
\n

World, reordering <\/h3>\n

China’s Xi meets Taiwan opposition leader ahead of key summit with Trump<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n

Zhou, who has attended many of these forums, noted that it was important that Hegseth reiterated what Trump and Xi agreed to at their recent summit: to build a “constructive, strategic partnership.”<\/p>

“That was the first time, I believe, for the United States to officially recognize the equal strengths of China, as a peer power,” Zhou said.<\/p>

Read more Opinion: Pope Leo reminds us of the value of our shared humanity<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The U.S. defense secretary said there is “rightful alarm” of China’s military build up. But he also struck a more moderate tone on U.S.-China relations \u2013 and notably sidestepped bringing up Taiwan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1079,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[355,356,354],"class_list":["post-1088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting","tag-pete-hegseth","tag-taiwan","tag-u-s-china-relations"],"yoast_head":"\nHegseth urges Asian leaders to boost military spending against China - Best USA Movers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=1088\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hegseth urges Asian leaders to boost military spending against China - Best USA Movers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The U.S. defense secretary said there is "rightful alarm" of China's military build up. But he also struck a more moderate tone on U.S.-China relations \u2013 and notably sidestepped bringing up Taiwan.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=1088\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Best USA Movers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-30T14:42:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/071ccc3831f430862376dd36edda5806.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"683\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=1088#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=1088\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3f4fef4452a41b72c331a70422221f40\"},\"headline\":\"Hegseth urges Asian leaders to boost military spending against China\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-30T14:42:34+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=1088\"},\"wordCount\":800,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=1088#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/77724e3c97695708acebd92c5ac77b30-scaled.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Pete Hegseth\",\"Taiwan\",\"U.S.-China relations\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=1088#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=1088\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=1088\",\"name\":\"Hegseth urges Asian leaders to boost military spending against China - Best USA Movers\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=1088#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=1088#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/77724e3c97695708acebd92c5ac77b30-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-30T14:42:34+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3f4fef4452a41b72c331a70422221f40\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=1088#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=1088\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=1088#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/77724e3c97695708acebd92c5ac77b30-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/77724e3c97695708acebd92c5ac77b30-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707,\"caption\":\"U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth waits to deliver his speech at the 22nd Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore, Saturday, May 31, 2025. (AP Photo\\\/Anupam Nath)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=1088#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Hegseth urges Asian leaders to boost military spending against China\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Best USA Movers\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3f4fef4452a41b72c331a70422221f40\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Hegseth urges Asian leaders to boost military spending against China - Best USA Movers","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=1088","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Hegseth urges Asian leaders to boost military spending against China - Best USA Movers","og_description":"The U.S. defense secretary said there is \"rightful alarm\" of China's military build up. But he also struck a more moderate tone on U.S.-China relations \u2013 and notably sidestepped bringing up Taiwan.","og_url":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=1088","og_site_name":"Best USA Movers","article_published_time":"2026-05-30T14:42:34+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":683,"url":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/071ccc3831f430862376dd36edda5806.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=1088#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=1088"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3f4fef4452a41b72c331a70422221f40"},"headline":"Hegseth urges Asian leaders to boost military spending against China","datePublished":"2026-05-30T14:42:34+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=1088"},"wordCount":800,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=1088#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/77724e3c97695708acebd92c5ac77b30-scaled.jpg","keywords":["Pete Hegseth","Taiwan","U.S.-China relations"],"articleSection":["Interesting"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=1088#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=1088","url":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=1088","name":"Hegseth urges Asian leaders to boost military spending against China - Best USA Movers","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=1088#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=1088#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/77724e3c97695708acebd92c5ac77b30-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2026-05-30T14:42:34+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3f4fef4452a41b72c331a70422221f40"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=1088#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=1088"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=1088#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/77724e3c97695708acebd92c5ac77b30-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/77724e3c97695708acebd92c5ac77b30-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1707,"caption":"U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth waits to deliver his speech at the 22nd Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore, Saturday, May 31, 2025. (AP Photo\/Anupam Nath)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=1088#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Hegseth urges Asian leaders to boost military spending against China"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/","name":"Best USA Movers","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3f4fef4452a41b72c331a70422221f40","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/bestusamoverss.com"],"url":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1088","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1088"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1088\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1079"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}