The US Secretary for Defense urges military accumulation on the threat of “imminent” China
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The American Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, warned that a Chinese military attack on Taiwan “could be imminent” while he called the American allies in Indo-Pacific to stimulate defense spending as a new deterrence in Beijing.
Speaking at the Iiss Shangri-La dialogue forum in Singapore on Saturday, HegSeth said that China wanted to become a hegemonic power in Asia and acted in a way that should be an urgent “alarm clock”.
“Any communist China attempt to conquer Taiwan would have devastating consequences for Indo-Pacific and the world,” he said.
“There is no reason to make it sugar. The threat that China poses is real. And it could be imminent. We hope no, but it could certainly be.”
US intelligence officials and military officers claim that President Xi Jinping said the Chinese soldiers to develop the ability to invade Taiwan by 2027. But that they are increasingly concerned about the rapid military ascent of China, most of the officials had stressed that an attack was not imminent.
During his second trip to Asia as a defense secretary, Hegseth said that American allies and American partners should follow Europe’s “new example” to commit to stimulating defense spending, saying that “time is gasoline”.
“It does not make sense for European countries to do so while the main allies in Asia spend less in defense in the face of an even more formidable threat [from China]Not to mention North Korea. »»
Hegseth said that an American strategic advantage was its network of allies, but that they should invest more. American allies in Indo-Pacific should quickly upgrade their own defenses, he said.
He added that no one should doubt American commitment to his allies in Indo-Pacific. “We will continue to wrap our arms around our friends and find new ways to work together.”
Hegseth said US President Donald Trump was determined to “realize peace by force”. He said it started by dissuading the aggression in Indo-Pacific, the “priority theater” of the United States.
As he accused Joe Biden of having weakened America, numerous military initiatives focused on Asia that he described seemed to be a continuation of policies presented by the former president.
In his first major speech as a defense secretary, Hegseth said that the United States had “not sought a conflict” with China but “would not let our allies and our partners be subordinate”.
He said China used its cyber capacities to attack critical infrastructure in the United States and beyond and harassed its neighbors, including Taiwan, in the Southern China Sea.
“XI ordered his soldiers to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027. [People’s Liberation Army] Build the soldiers necessary to do so, train it every day and rehearsal for the real matter. »»
Faced with the threat of China, Hegseth said that many countries were “tempted by the idea of ​​seeking both economic cooperation with China and defense cooperation with the United States”.
But he warned that economic dependence on China “complicates our decision -making space during a period of tension or conflict”.
Hegseth spoke the day after President Emmanuel Macron said to the forum that it was necessary to create an “action coalition” between the countries of Asia and Europe in the midst of increasing competition between the United States and China.
Unlike in recent years, China has not sent its Minister of Defense to the Forum. Stressing the American commitment to Indo-Pacific, Hegseth said: “We are here this morning and someone else is not”, in a reference to the absence of Admiral Dong Jun, the Chinese Defense Minister.
