U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth urged Asian allies to significantly increase their military spending during the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore today.
Addressing regional leaders, Hegseth expressed “rightful alarm regarding China’s historic military buildup and the expansion of its military activities in the region and beyond.”
He emphasized that the U.S. wants to maintain a stable balance of power, warning, “A Pacific dominated by any hegemon would unravel the regional balance of power.”
Echoing President Donald Trump’s focus on allies taking more responsibility, Hegseth clearly stated, “The era of the United States subsidizing the defense of wealthy nations is over.”
He stressed that military partnerships must be equal adding, “We need partners, not protectorates” and declared “We don’t have a strong alliance unless everyone has skin in the game. No freeloading.”
The U.S. is now calling for its partners in the region to raise defense spending to 3.5% of their GDP, while simultaneously committing to its own $1.5 trillion military investment.
Despite these demands, Hegseth maintained that U.S.-China relations remain open, noting that military-to-military communications are more frequent, as “we are meeting more frequently with our Chinese counterparts by maintaining open lines of military-to-military communication.”
