Trump's USA US-China relations

Hegseth warns of China – wants to see Asia invest in defense

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is urging allies in Asia to increase their defense spending to 5 percent of GDP. At the same time, he is raising a warning finger at China, several news media write.

In a speech this morning, the Pentagon chief points to a possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan and calls for increased cooperation between the countries.

He points out that NATO members have committed to increasing their defense spending, "even Germany."

- It is not reasonable for European countries to do so while important allies in Asia are spending less money on defense, despite an even greater threat, he says.

However, analysts are skeptical and call Hegseth's demands "unrealistic."

– The call for Asian allies to follow Europe's example and increase defense spending to 5% of GDP is unrealistic, says Shahriman Lockman, an analyst at the Malaysian Institute for Strategic and International Studies.

Chinese anger – speech "imbued with provocations"

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's speech at the international defense conference in Singapore did not go down well with China.

The Chinese embassy in Singapore writes on Facebook that the speech was "imbued with provocations", reports AFP.

Hegseth's "slandered and attacked" China and painted the country as a threat, when in fact it is the United States that is the "biggest troublemaker" in the region, it further writes.

In the speech, the US Defense Secretary urged allies in Asia to increase their defense spending. He also warned of the threat from China and that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan is entirely possible.