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US defence secretary Pete Hegseth warned that a Chinese military attack on Taiwan “could be imminent” as he called on America’s allies in the Indo-Pacific to boost defence spending as a further deterrence to Beijing.
Speaking at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue defence forum in Singapore on Saturday, Hegseth said China wanted to become a hegemonic power in Asia and was acting in a manner that should be an urgent “wake-up call”.
“Any attempt by Communist China to conquer Taiwan would result in devastating consequences for the Indo-Pacific and the world,” he said.
“There is no reason to sugarcoat it. The threat China poses is real. And it could be imminent. We hope not, but it certainly could be.”
US intelligence officials and military officers say that President Xi Jinping has told the Chinese military to develop the capability to invade Taiwan by 2027. But while they are increasingly worried about China’s rapid military rise, most officials had stressed that an attack was not imminent.
In his second trip to Asia as defence secretary, Hegseth said US allies and partners in the region should follow the “newfound example” of Europe in pledging to boost defence spending, saying “time is of the essence”.
“It doesn’t make sense for countries in Europe to do that while key allies in Asia spend less on defence in the face of an even more formidable threat [from China], not to mention North Korea.”
Hegseth said one US strategic advantage was its network of allies, but they needed to invest more. American allies in the Indo-Pacific should quickly upgrade their own defences, he said.
He added that no one should doubt the US commitment to its allies in the Indo-Pacific. “We will continue to wrap our arms around our friends and find new ways to work together.”
Hegseth said US President Donald Trump was committed to “achieving peace through strength”. He said that started with deterring aggression in the Indo-Pacific, the US’s “priority theatre”.
While he accused Joe Biden of weakening America, many of the Asia-focused military initiatives he described appeared to be a continuation of policies introduced by the former president.
In his first big speech as defence secretary, Hegseth said the US did “not seek conflict” with China but would “not let our allies and partners be subordinated”.
He said China was using its cyber capabilities to attack critical infrastructure in the US and beyond and was harassing its neighbours, including Taiwan, in the South China Sea.
“Xi has ordered his military to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027. The [People’s Liberation Army] is building the military needed to do it, training for it every day and rehearsing for the real deal.”
Facing the threat from China, Hegseth said many countries were “tempted by the idea of seeking both economic co-operation with China and defence co-operation with the United States”.
But he warned that economic dependence on China “complicates our decision space during times of tension or conflict”.
Hegseth was speaking the day after President Emmanuel Macron told the forum there was a need to create a “coalition of action” between countries in Asia and Europe amid rising competition between the US and China.
Unlike in recent years, China did not send its defence minister to the forum. Underscoring the US commitment to the Indo-Pacific, Hegseth said: “We are here this morning and somebody else isn’t,” in a reference to the absence of Admiral Dong Jun, China’s defence minister.
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