Pete Hegseth is sounding the alarm on China.
“There’s no reason to sugarcoat it,” President Donald Trump’s defense secretary said at a summit in Singapore. “The threat China poses is real, and it could be imminent. We hope not. But it certainly could be.”
Hegseth told an audience of America’s Asian allies that if China made an attempt to “conquer” Taiwan, it would spell “devastating consequences” for the Indo-Pacific region—and the rest of the world.
“China seeks to become a hegemonic power in Asia,” he said at the Shangri-La Dialogue Saturday. “No doubt. It hopes to dominate and control too many parts of this vibrant and vital region.”
“We cannot look away, and we cannot ignore it,” Hegseth concluded. “China’s behavior towards its neighbors and the world is a wake-up call—and an urgent one.”
While Hegseth echoed a popular theory that China is gearing up to invade Taiwan by 2027, Chinese President Xi Jinping has reportedly pushed back on this claim.
Hegseth’s comments come as his boss has fought a vicious tariff battle with China. Trump instituted a sky-high 145 percent import tax on the industrial giant in April, but he subsequently reduced it to 30 percent after China imposed a retaliatory 125 percent tariff.
Trump has been mocked in recent days over his penchant for backing off his most brazen actions—particularly his tariffs. The trend has spawned a derisive acronym, TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out), that infuriated the president when a reporter brought it to his attention this week.
American leaders, including Trump and Vice President JD Vance, have urged allies—particularly in Europe—to rampg up their own defense budgets rather than relying on support from the United States.
Hegseth reiterated that message to the room full of Asian defense leaders and diplomats.
“We are engaging with, enabling, and empowering our allies,” he said. “Sometimes with tough love, but love nonetheless. We’re pushing our allies in Europe to own more of their own security—to invest in their defense, things that are long overdue.”
Hegseth bluntly delivered a matching directive to those in the room, saying that “it doesn’t make sense for countries in Europe to do that while key allies in Asia spend less on defense in the face of an even more formidable threat, not to mention North Korea.”
