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Hegseth warns of China threat as Beijing’s top brass skip Singapore summit

Comments by US defence chief come as China’s Defence Minister Dong Jun was noticeably absent from the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.

Of the many military officials darting across the lobby of Singapore’s Shangri-La Hotel this weekend, there has been one significant absence.

China’s Defence Minister Dong Jun skipped the annual Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia’s premier security forum, with Beijing sending a delegation of lower-ranking representatives instead.

It was the first time since 2019 that China has not dispatched its defence minister to the high-level dialogue on regional defence, except when the event was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Beijing’s decision raised eyebrows in Singapore, coming at a time of heightened tensions between China and the United States – the world’s two biggest superpowers.

Dong’s absence meant there was no face-to-face meeting with his US counterpart, Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, who had the floor to himself on Saturday when he told the defence forum that the military threat posed by China was potentially imminent.

“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 told delegates in Singapore.

Pointing to China’s regular military drills around Taiwan as well as increasingly frequent skirmishes in the South China Sea, Hegseth said Beijing was proactively harassing its neighbours.

“There’s no reason to sugar-coat it. The threat China poses is real, and it could be imminent,” Hegseth said.

He also pointed to China’s growing military assertiveness as a reason for Asian nations to boost their defence spending, pointing to Germany, which has pledged to move towards spending 5 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) on defence.

“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,” Hegseth said.

The defence chief also looked to reassure Asian allies that Washington was committed to Asia Pacific security despite strained ties in recent months as US President Donald Trump targeted some close allies with hefty trade tariffs.

“America is proud to be back in the Indo-Pacific, and we’re here to stay,” he said, opening his speech.

Some analysts were quick to play down the severity of Hegseth’s warnings about China.

“Short of a very few countries, not many in this part of the world see China as an imminent threat and would up their [defence] spending,” said Dylan Loh, assistant professor in the public policy and global affairs programme at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University.

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