Heget warns China a “immediate” threat to Taiwan and calls on Asia to strengthen defense

US Secretary of Defense Pete Heget has warned that China is an “immediate” threat to Taiwan, while calling on Asian countries to strengthen defense costs and work with the United States to deter the war.

Although the United States does not “strive to dominate or strangle China,” it will not be pushed from Asia or allow its allies to be intimidated, heget said as it turns to an Asian meeting at a high level.

In response, China has accused the United States of being the “most large -scale problem creator” for regional peace.

Many in Asia are afraid of potential instability if China invades Taiwan, a self -governing island claimed by Beijing. China has not excluded the use of force.

Speaking in the Shangri-La dialogue in Singapore, Heget characterizes China as a strive to become a “hegemonic force” that “hopes to dominate and control too many parts” of Asia. China has been confronted with several neighbors over competitive territorial claims in the South China Sea.

He said Beijing “was reliably preparing to use the military force to change the balance of power” in Asia and refer to a deadline in 2027, which President Jinping was given so that the military could invade Taiwan.

This is a date presented by US officials and generals for years, but has never been confirmed by Beijing.

China “builds the military necessary for this, is training for every day and rehearsals for the real deal,” Heget said.

“Let me be clear: any Communist China attempt to conquer Taiwan would have a pernicious consequences for the Indo-Ocean and the world. There is no reason to suck it. The threat that China represents is real. And it can be inevitable. We hope it can’t be.”

The United States is not looking for war or conflict with China, heget added.

“We do not strive to dominate or strangle China, surround or provoke. We are not looking for a change in the regime … But we have to guarantee that China cannot dominate us or our allies and partners,” he said, adding that “we will not be pushed out of this critical region.”

In response, the Chinese Embassy in Singapore posted a note on its Facebook page saying that speech had “penetrated provocations and motives” and said Heget was “repeatedly smeared and attacked China and relentlessly played the so -called” China threat “.

“In fact, the United States itself is the biggest” problem “for regional peace and stability,” he added. Examples he quoted included the “deployment of offensive weapons” in the South China Sea and conducting intelligence of what the embassy called “Chinese Islands and Reefs.”

“What the United States now offers the most for the world is” uncertainty, “the embassy says. “The country claims to defend peace and does not seek conflicts. We have heard it. Let’s see what movements it will take.”

China’s healthy rhetoric came as it deliberately reduced its presence in dialogue.

The Shangri-La dialogue has traditionally served as a platform for the US and China to make their terrains in Asian countries, as superpowers bump into influence.

But while this year, the United States has sent one of its biggest delegations so far, China instead sent a lower level team to a significant team and defamed its planned speech on Sunday. No explanation has been given.

In order to prevent war, the US wants a “strong shield of deterrents”, forgotten with allies, said Heget, who promised that the US “would continue to surround their hands around their friends and find new ways to work together.”

But he stressed that “deterrence is not cheap” and called on Asian countries to increase their defense costs by pointing to Europe as an example.

US President Donald Trump has demanded members of the Western Alliance NATO to spend more on defense, at least 5% of their GDP – an approach that heget is called “hard love, but nevertheless love.” Some countries, including Estonia, quickly move to do so, while others like Germany have signaled to openness to comply.

“How can it make sense to do so, while key allies and partners in Asia spend less before a worse threat?” He said that with regard to China, adding that North Korea was also a threat.

“Europe is intensifying. The US allies in the Indo-Pacific region can and should follow by quickly upgrading their own defenses,” he insisted, saying that they should be “partners, not dependent” by the United States.

He advertised US military hardware and also pointed to a new Indo-thihoquan partnership for the industrial defense resistance. His first projects are the creation of a radar repair center in Australia for sea patrol aircraft purchased from allies and supporting the production of drones in the region.

He also warned Asian countries not to seek economic ties with China, saying Beijing would use it as a “lever” to deepen its “malignant influence”, complicating US defense decisions.

Heget’s speech has come a day after French President Emanuel Macron’s terrain in the same dialogue for Europe is also an ally of Asia.

In response to a question about Macron’s proposal, he said the United States would “prefer a lot to be the prevailing balance of European investment on this continent” so that the United States can use its “comparative advantage” in the Indo-Ocean.

China’s response criticizes the US approach to Europe. “Since the US commitment to its European allies is to summon the latter to spend more on self -defense, what will be his commitment to others?” The statement read.

“The United States continues to expand its already stunning defense costs. Will the extended part of the rates it imposes on other countries?” He added, citing Trump’s global tariffs, which shook the world’s economic order and provoked concern among US allies.

Heget also sold Trump’s vision for “common sense” in working with the rest of the world where “America has no or seek constant enemies.”

He compared the US President with the late Singapore statesman Lee Quan Yu, who was known for his pragmatic real -politician in foreign relations.

“The United States is not interested in the moralistic and preaching approach to the foreign policy of the past. We are not here to press other countries to perceive and accept policies or ideologies. We are not here to preach you about climate change or cultural problems. We are not here.”

It was an approach that Democratic Senator Tammy Dukworth, who was part of the US delegation in Singapore, criticized.

Speaking separately to the dialogue reporters, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said heget and Trump’s vision was “incompatible with the values ​​on which our nation was based.”

Others “know what we are for, we uphold the fundamental rights of a person, we uphold international law and order. And this is what we will continue to insist on. And I know that in the Senate we will try to maintain it or else it would be non -American otherwise,” she said.

Duckworth also strives for the overall message of heget to the allies in the region, calling it “patronizing.”

“His idea where we are surrounding you – we do not need this type of language. We have to stand with our allies, work together and send the message that America does not ask people to choose between the PRC (the People’s Republic of China) and us.”

Other members of the delegation, Republican representatives Brian Mast and John Malelear, told the BBC that the speech sent a clear message about the threat of China and it was welcomed by many Asian countries, according to meetings with employees.

“The message I heard is that people want to see the freedom of navigation and respect for neighbors, but feel intimidated by some of the aggressive actions that China exhibits,” says Mulnaar, who is chairman of the US -China Competition Committee.

“So the presence of the United States is welcome and encouraged. And the message had to continue to attend.”

Ian Chong, a non -residential scientist from Carnegie China, said Asian governments would be reassured by the US commitment to the status quo.

The call of heget to increase defense costs was “quite standard for the United States these days,” he said, adding that although it was a “perennial question” between the US and Asian allies such as Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, which is going back, “Trump’s administration is more intense and requires more.”

“I suppose the Asian governments will listen – but how much they will be in line with is a different story,” said Dr. Chong.