Pentagon head warns of China’s imminent threat in Indo-Pacific

US Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth, who is co-delegating a bipartisan delegation to Shangri-La’s dialogue, said it was noteworthy that Hegseth emphasized that the United States were committed to the region, but that their allies language was not useful.

“I thought he was condescending to our particular individual friends in particular,” said Duckworth.

Weapons and research spending are increasing among some Asian countries, as they respond to an increasingly shadowy security perspective by expanding their external industrial partnerships and trying to boost their own defense industries, according to a new study by the London-based International Strategic Institute of Strategic Studies, the organization that manages Shangri-LA dialogue.

The increase occurs even with Asian nations spending an average of 1.5% of GDP in defense in 2024, a number that has remained relatively constant in the last decade, according to the study.

Hegseth suggested that allies in Europe focus on the safety of the European continent, so that Washington can focus on the threat represented by China in Indo-Pacific, along with a greater participation of allies in Asia.

“We would prefer much more than the overwhelming balance of European investment was on that continent, so that when we make partnerships there, what we will continue to do, we can use our comparative advantage as the Indo-Pacific nation to support our partners here,” he said in response to a question after his speech.