SINGAPORE/TOKYO ¨C If there was any doubt about Donald Trump¡¯s top military priorities in the Indo-Pacific, his defense chief¡¯s widely anticipated speech at this year¡¯s Shangri-La Dialogue made things crystal clear: deterring China and having allies commit to higher spending and burden-sharing are at the top of his list.
Warning on Saturday of an imminent and ¡°real¡± threat by Beijing to alter the regional balance of power in Asia, particularly with an invasion of Taiwan, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called on Washington¡¯s regional allies and partners to ramp up military budgets ¡ª possibly to as high as 5% of gross domestic product.
¡°We cannot look away and we cannot ignore it. China¡¯s behavior toward its neighbors and the world is a wake up call and an urgent one,¡± Hegseth said before a packed house as defense chiefs, military brass and senior diplomats gathered in Singapore for Asia¡¯s premier regional security conference.
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