SINGAPORE ¨C The Shangri-La Dialogue security meeting in Singapore has long been marked by U.S.-China rivalry, but Beijing¡¯s relative retreat at the weekend exposed a new fault line ¡ª tensions between the U.S. and Europe over Asia.
Even as he warned in a speech on Saturday that China posed an ¡°imminent¡± threat, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made clear he wanted Europeans to concentrate on European security as they boosted military budgets.
¡°We would much prefer that the overwhelming balance of European investment be on that continent ... so that as we partner there, which we will continue to do, we¡¯re able to use our comparative advantage as an Indo-Pacific nation to support our partners here,¡± he said.
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