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DW
a day ago
- Politics
- DW
Where are US and China heading after Shangri-La Dialogue? – DW – 06/02/2025
The cracks between the two superpowers, the US and China, seem to have widened during Asia's premier security forum. But while Washington is warning of the "threat" of China, Beijing is playing it close to the chest. The Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia's premier security forum held annually in Singapore, wrapped up this weekend with a clear message from the United States: the Indo-Pacific is a top priority for the Trump administration amid what it sees as China's aggressive posturing. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth urged Asian allies to step up their own defense in response to China's military build-up near Taiwan, a self-governing island Beijing claims as its own. Hegseth mentioned China more than 20 times in his first-ever speech at Shangri-La, and issued a more direct warning about any plans Beijing may have to take Taiwan. "Any attempt by Communist China to conquer Taiwan by force would result in devastating consequences for the Indo-Pacific and the world. There's no reason to sugarcoat it," Hegseth said on Saturday. "The threat China poses is real. And it could be imminent," he said. "We hope not, but it certainly could be." Chinese Rear Admiral Hu Gangfeng, who is leading a delegation from the National Defense University of the People's Liberation Army, called the US remarks "groundless accusations." China's Rear Admiral Hu Gangfeng fired back against the US claims Image: Edgar Su/REUTERS The next day, China's Foreign Ministry also issued a statement to protest against Hegseth's remarks, claiming that the US military presence in Asia-Pacific is "turning the region into a powder keg." China's defense minister stays away The usual plenary session where Beijing used to outline its Indo-Pacific strategy was canceled this year, and speculation over why Beijing chose not to send Defense Minister Dong Jun to Singapore lingered throughout the three-day summit. Zhou Bo, a senior fellow at the Tsinghua University's Center for International Security and Strategy, told DW on site that the minister was absent due to travel schedule arrangements and not for any strategic reason. But other analysts suggested that China may be trying to avoid tough questions on security issues. Another possible factor is that Washington was presenting its Indo-Pacific policy at a global stage for the first time in US President Donald Trump's second term. China threat set to dominate Singapore security talks To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video "It seems to me that China opted for a more cautious and defensive approach this time. It was waiting for the US to make a move," said Lin Ying-Yu, an assistant professor at the Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies at Taiwan's Tamkang University. "Once the US has made its statements, then [China] will respond accordingly," he added. As for clues about Beijing's possible countermeasures, Lin suggested waiting for the Beijing Xiangshan Forum, another international defense conference hosted annually by China in September or October. Lin also warned that "China might use military actions toward Taiwan as a way to send a message to the US, and that's something we should be watching out for." How might US-China relations change going forward? China, which now has the world's largest navy by number of warships, has reportedly stepped up its deployment of naval and coast guard vessels across East Asian waters since early May. Zhou, the Chinese military expert, told DW that the tone Hegseth used to address US-China competition shows an "almost 180 degrees change" compared to the Biden administration and "runs contrary to what his predecessors said." Hegseth issues Taiwan warning to Beijing To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Standing at the same podium last year, the former US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin emphasized that war with China was neither imminent nor unavoidable, stressing the importance of renewed dialogue between the two countries in avoiding miscalculations. When asked at the venue about the future of China-US relations, Da Wei, director of the Center for International Security and Strategy (CISS) at Tsinghua University, said he expects day-to-day defense operations from both sides to "appear more confrontational," but without sudden escalation. France's Macron warns of global divide At the forum, French President Emmanuel Macron called out the apparent growing division between China and the US as the main risk currently facing the world. "The instruction given to all the others: you have to choose your side," Macron said at the opening day. "If we do so, we will kill the global order, and we will destroy methodically all the institutions we created after the Second World War," he added. In response to the concerns of the world splitting into two opposing camps, Zhou told DW: "Clearly we have not reached that level, which is a total hostile relationship between two enemies." "We are still away from that and hope we will always be away from that," he said. Tensions slowly rising around Taiwan While China seemed more cautious in the diplomatic arena, its actions in the Taiwan Strait seem to be growing more aggressive. Since Taiwan's current President William Lai took office over a year ago, the island's official data shows more frequent crossings by Chinese military aircraft over the Taiwan Strait's median line — the unofficial boundary between mainland China and Taiwan, despite Beijing officially considering all of Taiwan as Chinese territory. Taiwan also recorded an increased naval presence around its shores. In Singapore, US Defense Secretary Hegseth warned that China could be ready to invade Taiwan as early as 2027 — a statement that echoes previous assessment by US authorities. China has dismissed the 2027 timeline before but reiterated the goal of reaching reunification with Taiwan, whether by peaceful or non-peaceful means. Taiwan wants its own satellite internet — here's why To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Despite being one of the most contentious flashpoints in the world, Taiwan had little official representation at Asia's premier defense forum, Taiwanese media reported. The name "Taiwan" was also reportedly not shown on the guest list for the only two attendees from the island: I-Chung Lai, the CEO of a government-affiliated think tank, and former Defense Minister Andrew Nien-dzu Yang. Edited by: Darko Janjevic
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
China says US turning Asia-Pacific into 'powder keg' over Taiwan
The United States is undermining peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region and "turning it into a powder keg," a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Sunday in response to remarks by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The spokesman simultaneously warned the US not to interfere in China's conflict with Taiwan. "Hegseth deliberately ignored the call for peace and development by countries in the region, and instead touted the Cold War mentality for bloc confrontation, vilified China with defamatory allegations, and falsely called China a 'threat,'" the spokesman said. Regarding Taiwan, the spokesman said the island's future was "entirely China's internal affair" and that no country was in a position to interfere. The US could not use the Taiwan question as leverage and "must never play with fire on this question," he said. Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue security conference in Singapore on Saturday, Hegseth said China was building the military it needed to invade Taiwan and was "training for it every day, and rehearsing for the real deal." The same day, Admiral Hu Gangfeng, head of the Chinese delegation to the conference, termed Hegseth's allegations unfounded, adding that "they aim to incite confrontation and destabilize the region." In his address, Hegseth called on Washington's Asian allies to spend more on defence, saying that deterrence had its price. Hegseth accused China of seeking hegemony in Asia and aiming to dominate and control the entire region. He said that the US did not seek conflict "with Communist China. We will not instigate nor seek to subjugate or humiliate," he said. But the US "will not be pushed out of this critical region, and we will not let our allies and partners be subordinated and intimidated," Hegseth said. Under President Xi Jinping, China has repeatedly warned it could use military force to seize Taiwan, which has been independent from Beijing for decades with its own democratically elected government. The annual Shangri-La Dialogue draws hundreds of government ministers, military officers and experts from all over the world. Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun did not attend at this year. Observers said this was deliberate to avoid a possible meeting with Hegseth.
ABC News
2 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
China rejects US defence chief's 'groundless' warnings on Taiwan invasion threat
China has accused the US of making "groundless accusations" about developing threats by Beijing, particularly in its aggressive stance toward Taiwan. China objected to US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's comments that called on allies in the Indo-Pacific region to spend more on defence after warning of China's "real and potentially imminent" threat. Earlier, Mr Hegseth warned at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore that China's army "is rehearsing for the real deal," to invade Taiwan. Hu Gangfeng, vice president of China's National Defence University, said the accusations were "nothing more than attempts to provoke trouble, incite division and stir up confrontation to destabilise the Asia-Pacific region." "Some of the claims are completely fabricated, some distort facts, and some are cases of a thief crying 'stop, thief'," he said. He did not offer specific objections. China views Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to "reunify" with the democratic and separately governed island, by force if necessary. Taiwan's government rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims, saying only the island's people can decide their future. China has stepped up military and political pressure to assert those claims, including increasing the intensity of war games around Taiwan. When asked about Australia's defence spending, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed it would increase its investment. "We'll determine our defence policy, and we've just invested across the forwards an additional $10 billion on defence," he told the ABC. "What we'll do is continue to provide for investing in our capability, but also our relationships in the region." Defence Minister Richard Marles pointed out that while Australia was making its investments public, China was yet to explain the rationale behind its largest conventional military build-up since World War II. "It is not just the size of the [China's] military build-up, it is the fact that it is happening without strategic reassurance and without a clear strategic intent," he told the ABC, at the Shangri-La Dialogue. "We want to see strategic transparency and strategic reassurance be provided by China and an understanding of why it is needed to have such an extraordinary military build-up". Australia is currently on track to reach defence spending levels of 2.33 per cent of GDP by 2033-34, up from its current level of 2.02 per cent. But the Trump administration has pressured Australia's government to lift its spending to at least 3 per cent of GDP. Meanwhile, Mr Marles said on Sunday that nuclear-powered submarines being delivered under AUKUS were "on track". AUKUS is a trilateral security agreement between Australia, the US and the UK. The deal will see Australia end up with a total of eight new nuclear-powered submarines. "We are optimistic about how it is progressing," he said, adding that Australians working on the submarines were acquiring new skills. Mr Hegseth also called on allies in the Indo-Pacific region to up spending, pointing to tensions in the South China Sea where China and the Philippines contest sovereignty over some islands. As part of Washington's longstanding defence ties with the Philippines, the US military this year deployed Typhon launchers that can fire missiles to hit targets in both China and Russia from the Philippines. ABC/Wires
CTV News
3 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
U.S. defence secretary warns Indo-Pacific allies of ‘imminent' threat from China
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth delivers his speech during 22nd Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore,Saturday, May 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath) SINGAPORE — U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reassured allies in the Indo-Pacific on Saturday that they will not be left alone to face increasing military and economic pressure from China, while insisting that they also contribute more to their own defence. He said Washington will bolster its defences overseas to counter what the Pentagon sees as rapidly developing threats by Beijing, particularly in its aggressive stance toward Taiwan. China has conducted numerous exercises to test what a blockade would look like of the self-governing island, which Beijing claims as its own and the U.S. has pledged to defend. China's army 'is rehearsing for the real deal,' Hegseth said in a keynote speech at a security conference in Singapore. 'We are not going to sugarcoat it — the threat China poses is real. And it could be imminent.' The head of China's delegation accused Hegseth of making 'groundless accusations.' 'Some of the claims are completely fabricated, some distort facts and some are cases of a thief crying 'stop thief,' said Rear Adm. Hu Gangfeng, vice president of China's National Defense University. He did not offer specific objections. 'These actions are nothing more than attempts to provoke trouble, incite division and stir up confrontation to destabilize the Asia-Pacific region,' he said. Hegseth says China is training to invade Taiwan China has a stated goal of ensuring its military is capable of taking Taiwan by force if necessary by 2027, a deadline that is seen by experts as more of an aspirational goal than a hard war deadline. China also has built sophisticated, artificial islands in the South China Sea to support new military outposts and developed highly advanced hypersonic and space capabilities, which are driving the United States to create its own space-based 'Golden Dome' missile defences. Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue, a global security conference hosted by the International Institute for Security Studies, Hegseth said China is no longer just building up its military forces to take Taiwan, it's 'actively training for it, every day.' Hegseth also called out China for its ambitions in Latin America, particularly its efforts to increase its influence over the Panama Canal. He urged Indo-Pacific countries to increase defence spending to levels similar to the 5 per cent of their gross domestic product European nations are now pressed to contribute. 'We must all do our part,' Hegseth said. Following the speech, the European Union's top diplomat Kaja Kallas pushed back at Hegseth's comment that European countries should focus their defence efforts in their own region and leave the Indo-Pacific more to the U.S. She said that with North Korean troops fighting for Russia and China supporting Moscow, European and Asian security were 'very much interlinked.' Questions about U.S. commitment to Indo-Pacific Hegseth also repeated a pledge made by previous administrations to bolster the U.S. military in the Indo-Pacific to provide a more robust deterrent. While both the Obama and Biden administrations had also committed to pivoting to the Pacific and established new military agreements throughout the region, a full shift has never been realized. Instead, U.S. military resources from the Indo-Pacific have been regularly pulled to support military needs in the Middle East and Europe, especially since the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. In the first few months of President Donald Trump's second term, that's also been the case. In the last few months, the Trump administration has taken a Patriot missile defence battalion out of the Indo-Pacific in order to send it to the Middle East, a massive logistical operation that required 73 military cargo aircraft flights, and sent Coast Guard ships back to the U.S. to help defend the U.S.-Mexico border. Hegseth was asked why the U.S. pulled those resources if the Indo-Pacific is the priority theater. He did not directly answer but said the shift of resources was necessary to defend against Houthi missile attacks launched from Yemen, and to bolster protections against illegal immigration into the U.S. At the same time, he stressed the need for American allies and partners to step up their own defence spending and preparations, saying the U.S. was not interested in going it alone. 'Ultimately a strong, resolute and capable network of allies and partners is our key strategic advantage,' he said. 'China envies what we have together, and it sees what we can collectively bring to bear on defence, but it's up to all of us to ensure that we live up to that potential by investing.' The Indo-Pacific nations caught in between have tried to balance relations with both the U.S. and China over the years. Beijing is the primary trading partner for many, but is also feared as a regional bully, in part due to its increasingly aggressive claims on natural resources such as critical fisheries. Hegseth cautioned that playing both sides, seeking U.S. military support and Chinese economic support, carries risk. 'Economic dependence on China only deepens their malign influence and complicates our defence decision space during times of tension,' Hegseth said. Asked how he would reconcile that statement with Trump's threat of steep tariffs on most in the region, Hegseth he was 'in the business of tanks, not trade.' But Illinois Democrat Sen. Tammy Duckworth, who is part of a congressional delegation attending Shangri-La, objected to pressuring regional allies. 'The United States is not asking people to choose between us and the PRC,' Duckworth said, in reference to the People's Republic of China. Australia's Defense Minister Richard Marles welcomed Hegseth's assurance that the Indo-Pacific was an American strategic priority and agreed that Australia and other nations needed to do their part. 'Reality is that there is no effective balance of power in this region absent the United States, but we cannot leave it to the United States alone,' he said. Still, Marles suggested the Trump administration's aggressive trade policies were counterproductive. 'The shock and disruption from the high tariffs has been costly and destabilizing.' China sends lower-level delegation China usually sends its own defence minister to the conference, but Dong Jun did not attend this year in a snub to the U.S. over Trump's erratic tariffs war. His absence was something the U.S. delegation said it intended to capitalize on. 'We are here this morning. And somebody else isn't,' Hegseth said. Asked by a member of the Chinese delegation how committed the U.S. would remain if Asian alliances like ASEAN had differences with Washington, Hegseth said the U.S. would not be constrained by 'the confines of how previous administrations looked at this region.' 'We're opening our arms to countries across the spectrum — traditional allies, non-traditional allies,' he said. He said U.S. support would not require local governments to align with the West on cultural or climate issues. Tara Copp and David Rising, The Associated Press
Straits Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Shangri-La Dialogue 2025: Did China really take a back seat by not sending its defence minister?
Major General Hu Gangfeng (C), Vice President of National Defense University of Chinese People's Liberation Army attends the Shangri-La Dialogue Summit in Singapore on May 31, 2025. (Photo by MOHD RASFAN / AFP) AFP Shangri-La Dialogue 2025 Did China take a back seat by not having its defence minister attend top security meet? SINGAPORE - Almost everyone was talking about China at the Shangri-La Dialogue this weekend. The main question: Why did Beijing opt not to send its defence minister? For the large part of the three-day security forum held at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore, China was not around to push back against the criticisms levied against it. But it appears that this was a calculated loss that Beijing is prepared to accept. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth mentioned China about 20 times in his speech on May 31, as he urged other countries in the Indo-Pacific to increase their defence expenditure, buy more American arms and buffer themselves against the 'threat' posed by China. French President Emmanuel Macron on May 30 invited the security policymakers and military chiefs attending the forum to think of Russia's aggression in Ukraine as what China might do to Taiwan or the Philippines. The role of the Chinese defence minister is to conduct defence diplomacy and explain China's security positions to other countries. Had he been at this weekend's top security gathering in Singapore, Beijing would have had the podium for over an hour to respond to Washington and address the concerns raised by other delegates. Not this year. For the first time since 2019, China's defence minister did not attend. This meant the platform set aside for China had to be downsized accordingly. Its delegation chief – a military scholar with the rank of a one-star general – spoke in a smaller room to a smaller audience for a shorter time than the minister would have had. He was one of five panellists at one of the three concurrent sessions at the end of the day on May 31. As the vice-president of the People's Liberation Army National Defence University, Rear-Admiral Hu Gangfeng is not involved in combat operations or policymaking. He gave a brief response to Mr Hegseth's speech, dismissing his criticisms as 'unfounded accusations' and going against the spirit of the forum, to reduce and not magnify differences. The Chinese embassy in Singapore, which belongs to the ministry of foreign affairs and usually remains backstage at the defence ministry-driven Shangri-La Dialogue, made the unusual move of posting a response to Mr Hegseth's speech on its Facebook page, describing it as 'steeped in provocations and instigation' and a relentless hyping of the China threat. But China's overall response to its critics at the forum this year was markedly low-key compared with the year before. In 2024, the Chinese defence ministry officials briefed reporters hours after then US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin gave his speech; Minister Dong Jun held court at a plenary session the next day; and just before the forum ended, four or five military experts stood in different corners of a hotel room to answer journalists' questions almost in a speed-dating format. Did China shoot itself in the foot by ceding the space at the annual forum for the US to run with its narrative of rallying allies and partners in the region against Beijing? Not necessarily. A Chinese security expert explained that while the delivery style may differ, whoever represents China at the forum is expected to deliver the same talking points that have been pre-cleared by the senior leadership, at the apex of which is President Xi Jinping, the de facto commander-in-chief. He declined to be named as he was not cleared to speak to the media. Rear-Adm Hu alluded to this on May 31 when pressed to explain the absence of the defence minister: 'Objectively speaking, I'm the appointed person today to convey our thinking and exchange views with you all. I suppose you would've heard clearly our true thinking.' He argued that China's representation at the forum changes over the years, and this variance should be seen as a 'perfectly normal work arrangement that does not impact the actual efficacy of our sharing of defence policy thinking'. But this does not mean that China has given up on the Shangri-La Dialogue and will never send its defence minister again. Rear-Adm Hu reaffirmed that China still values and sees the forum as a 'very good platform to engage and discuss with all parties about regional cooperation in Asia-Pacific'. This raises the question – if so, why didn't Beijing send its top defence diplomat here? Observers have proffered a number of theories for Admiral Dong's no-show. A likely explanation is that since the leaders of China and the US have not talked and decided at the highest level on how to manage the bilateral relations, which are fractious across trade, politics and security, there is not much that their defence ministers can meet and talk about, in practical terms. Having bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the forum in the third-party ground of Singapore is the other main purpose of being here, besides to speak at the forum. For example, when Adm Dong attended the forum in 2024 for the first time as defence minister, his bilateral meetings with the then Defence Secretary was crucial for a reset of China-US military ties, which had stalled after then US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi angered China by visiting Taiwan in 2022. Given the uncertainty and unpredictability of bilateral ties, China may have opted for a conservative, wait-and-see approach this year by sending a lower-level representation. Another supplementary consideration is: While Adm Dong appeared to have been in the clear after reportedly being questioned for corruption last year, rumours of other generals being investigated for corruption continue to surface . The absence of high-level military officials would forestall awkward questions, even in casual conversation . As with many things related to the Communist Party of China, the full picture may never emerge. Two scholars in the official Chinese delegation confessed to The Straits Times that they simply did not know the reason Adm Dong did not attend this year's forum. For this year, Mr Hegseth gets the spotlight all to himself. Yew Lun Tian is a senior foreign correspondent who covers China for The Straits Times. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
