Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Saturday told allies in the Indo-Pacific that the U.S. has their back against increasing military and economic pressure from China, while insisting that they also contribute more to their own defense.
Hegseth said the U.S. will bolster its defenses overseas to counter what the Pentagon views as rapidly developing threats by China, particularly toward Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own. China has conducted numerous exercises to test what a blockade of the island would look like.
The Chinese army "is rehearsing for the real deal," Hegseth said in a keynote speech at a security conference in Singapore. "We are not going to sugarcoat it — the threat China poses is real. And it could be imminent."
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China has said it wants its military to be in a position to take Taiwan by force if necessary by 2027.
China is no longer building up its military forces to take Taiwan, but it is "actively training for it, every day," Hegseth said on Saturday.
Not only has China created man-made islands in the South China Sea to support new military outposts, but it has also developed highly advanced hypersonic and space capabilities, prompting the U.S. to begin creating the "Golden Dome."
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In his speech, Hegseth called out China's ambitions in Latin America, specifically attempts to increase influence over the Panama Canal.
He also urged countries in the region to increase their defense spending to be in line with the percentage of gross domestic product that European nations are being pressed to contribute.
"We must all do our part," Hegseth said.
The European Union's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, pushed back against Hegseth after his speech for a comment he made about European countries putting focus on defending their own region while the U.S. mostly handles the Indo-Pacific.
Kallas said European and Asian security are "very much interlinked" at the moment as North Korean troops are fighting for Russia and China is supporting Moscow.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
