US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said relations between Washington and Beijing are “better than they have been in many years” under President Donald Trump, but warned of China’s rapid military expansion, Japan’s Kyodo News reports.
Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia’s annual security forum, Hegseth said there was “rightful alarm” in the Indo-Pacific over “China’s historic military buildup and the expansion of its military activities in the region and beyond”.
He said the US, together with its allies, would prevent Asia from being dominated by “any hegemon” that could “unravel the regional balance of power and undermine the equilibrium we all seek to preserve”.
“We do not approach this challenge with needless confrontation, but with a posture of measured and deliberate strength. Our focus is strong, quiet and clear,” he said.
His comments came two weeks after Trump’s summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, where both sides focused on stabilising ties rather than resolving deeper geopolitical and economic disputes.
His tone was less confrontational than last year’s speech, when he warned of “devastating consequences” should Beijing attempt to invade Taiwan.
This year, Hegseth outlined the Trump administration’s regional strategy as grounded in realism, rather than “wishful thinking or utopian idealism”.
He said, unlike western Europe, US allies in Asia have long understood that durable partnerships rest on “the concrete alignment of national interests” rather than “idealistic values”.
“There is undeniable strength in this clarity, and it is what makes our Pacific allies and partners such reliable counterweights in the face of regional threats,” he said.
“When our interests align, we act together with focused resolve. When our interests diverge, we adjust pragmatically without the drama or moralising.”
He added: “The era of the United States subsidising the defence of wealthy nations is over. We need partners, not protectorates. We seek alliances built on shared responsibility, not dependency.”
On Japan, Hegseth praised Tokyo for taking “concrete steps to accelerate its defence transformation” and said the Trump administration had “high expectations” for the alliance.
“Together, we are enhancing our force posture and investing in the right capabilities,” he said. “We are not at the finish line yet, and there is still some heavy lifting ahead, but the momentum is headed in the right direction.”