Latest news with #deterrence
Japan Times
13 hours ago
- General
- Japan Times
Japan, Philippines agree to strengthen defense cooperation
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro on Sunday agreed to further strengthen cooperation between Japan's Self-Defense Forces and the Philippine military amid China's intensified military activities in the East and South China seas. Japan and the Philippines will use the bilateral framework of strategic dialogue between unit operation officers, which the two defense ministers agreed to establish at their meeting in February. At the beginning of Sunday's meeting with Nakatani in Singapore, Teodoro said Japan and the Philippines must enhance deterrence and oppose actions they do not want, with China in mind. The two ministers confirmed the expansion of joint exercises following the signing of a reciprocal access agreement to facilitate visits to each other's country by the SDF and the Philippine military.
Japan Times
21 hours ago
- Business
- Japan Times
Hegseth to prioritize China, increased allied spending in Asia — but questions remain
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 these 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 — 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. Pointing to 'destabilizing actions' in areas such as the disputed South China Sea as well as Beijing's potential to invade self-ruled Taiwan, Hegseth said in his first major public outline of the Pentagon's Indo-Pacific policy that China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) is building the capabilities needed for an invasion. Beijing is 'training for it every day and rehearsing for the real deal,' he warned, asserting that Chinese leader Xi Jinping 'has ordered his military to be capable of invading Taiwan by 2027' — an intelligence-based assessment that is difficult to independently verify as there is no public record of Xi stating this. China, which did not send Defense Minister Adm. Dong Jun to the conference, reacted swiftly, with the Foreign Ministry in Beijing accusing Washington of touting a 'Cold War mentality for bloc confrontation.' Beijing also warned the Trump administration 'not to play with fire,' referring to Taiwan, which it views as a breakaway province it aims to unite with the mainland, as 'entirely China's internal affair.' Saturday's remarks by the U.S. defense secretary were closely scrutinized by regional defense chiefs, military leaders and senior diplomats skeptical of Washington's commitment to the region. They came as Trump continues to run roughshod over long-held conventions between Washington and its allies and partners, threatening even close friends with onerous tariffs and labeling long-standing alliances as unfair. Meia Nouwens, an expert on Chinese defense policy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, which is also the Shrangri-La Dialogue's co-organizer, called Hegseth's speech 'a clear statement of commitment to the region.' 'This is the strongest speech we've heard so far from this administration that the Indo-Pacific remains the U.S.'s priority theater,' she told The Japan Times. Still, she added, 'Asian capitals will be looking to see if words match actions moving forward.' U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Defense Minister Gen Nakatani shake hands at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore on Saturday. | REUTERS Meanwhile, Hegseth sought to link what he said was the threat China represents to U.S. demands that Asian allies and partners spend more on their own defense, calling on them to follow Europe's example and commit to higher spending and burden-sharing. 'NATO members are pledging to spend 5% of their GDP on defense, even Germany,' he said. 'So it doesn't make sense for countries in Europe to do that while key allies in Asia spend less on defense in the face of an even more formidable threat, not to mention North Korea.' The defense chief noted that while China envies what the U.S. and its allies can collectively bring to bear on defense, 'it's up to all of us to ensure that we live up to that potential by investing.' 'U.S. allies in the Indo-Pacific can and should quickly upgrade their own defenses,' Hegseth said. 'Deterrence does not come cheap. Time is of the essence. We must step up and move out with a sense of urgency.' But the U.S. defense chief's calls for boosted defense budgets in Asia will be an uphill battle from the start. As of last year, South Korea topped the region by spending 2.6% of GDP, followed by Taiwan, Australia, Japan and the Philippines, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. The demand is likely to be a nonstarter with Tokyo, in particular. Ostensibly pacifist Japan has in recent years undertaken a dramatic transformation of its security policy, including a decision to ramp up defense spending to 2% of GDP by 2027. Pouring even more cash into defense coffers would come with significant political costs, something Defense Minister Gen Nakatani alluded to following a bilateral meeting with Hegseth later Saturday. Asked whether the two had spoken about a specific number for Japan's defense budget, or if the U.S. side had requested that Tokyo purchase more defense equipment, Nakatani demurred, saying only that he had reiterated Japan's view that 'what is important is the substance of strengthened defense capabilities," not an arbitrary figure. Nouwens, however, said it remained too early to tell exactly what Hegseth — and more importantly Trump — may expect from Asian allies and partners, despite the spending hike hint. 'It wasn't clear to whom this applies and if the expectation is that countries in Asia match' the demands that European nations spend 5% of GDP on defense, she said. U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Saturday. | Bloomberg Hegseth had sought to ease at least some of the growing skepticism and murkiness surrounding the Trump administration's claimed focus on the Indo-Pacific by zeroing in on China as a malign regional actor. 'We will not be pushed out of this critical region, and we will not let our allies and partners be subordinated and intimidated,' Hegseth said in his speech, claiming that Beijing 'seeks to become a hegemonic power' in Asia. Later on Saturday, Hegseth met with the defense chiefs of Japan, Australia and the Philippines — the first gathering of a grouping known as "the Squad" under the second Trump White House — with the defense chief calling the grouping the most 'strategically positioned to manifest deterrence, to bring about peace' amid 'an unprecedented military buildup by China.' Dong, China's defense chief, had used his speech at the 2024 iteration of the Shangri-La Dialogue to denounce the formation of 'exclusive military alliances' and attempts to create 'bloc confrontation' to rein in China. Dong, however, was conspicuously absent from this year's conference, despite China sending its defense chief in recent years, with a delegation from the country's National Defense University, attending instead. The reason for the apparent downgrade was unclear, but the decision was seen by some as a snub. Da Wei, director of the Center for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University, questioned Washington's credibility with allies and partners, pointing to Trump's unilateral sanctions and its treatment of Canada, Panama and European countries. Zhou Bo, a senior fellow at the same institute, raised doubts about whether groupings like the Squad will be truly viable in times of conflict if they become legitimate targets for the PLA. 'In peacetime, these groupings might be there, but in wartime, they may not be there,' Bo told The Japan Times in an interview, while also raising doubts about Japan's appetite for a major conflict with China. Hegseth's speech stood in sharp contrast with remarks delivered the previous night by French President Emmanuel Macron who called on Asian and European nations to build 'strategic autonomy,' avoid picking sides between the U.S. and China, stand up to "spheres of coercion" and forge "coalitions of action" in a number of areas including security, the environment and trade. But Macron also credited Trump for encouraging Europe to increase defense spending, widely seen as an important step to achieving this strategic autonomy. Kaja Kallas, the European Union's top diplomat, shared a similar view, comparing Trump's insistence on more military spending to "tough love." "It's love nonetheless, so it's better than no love," Kallas said when asked later about Hegseth's speech. Nevertheless, this year's Shangri-La Dialogue revealed a growing perception gap between the U.S. and Europe in terms of what the latter's role in Asia should be. In recent years, European powers have been ramping up their presence in the region, engaging in a flurry of bilateral and multilateral military activities. Queried about this, Hegseth said that while this was 'useful,' he would 'much prefer that the overwhelming balance of European investment be on that continent.' This, he said, would allow Washington to use its 'comparative advantage as an Indo-Pacific nation to support our partners here.' Kallas, however, disagreed, adding that she had made her views known to Hegseth following his speech. 'Great powers maybe think that they don't need anybody; everybody needs them instead,' she told The Straits Times newspaper. 'But I think in these times, everybody needs everyone. We need to work together — the big powers too.'
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Hegseth: Prepare for war to ensure Indo-Pacific peace
May 31 (UPI) -- The United States and its allies won't allow China to dominate the Indo-Pacific region, but do not seek war, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Saturday morning in Singapore. He addressed regional concerns while speaking during the International Institute for Strategic Studies Shangri-La Dialogue event in Singapore. Hegseth said the Indo-Pacific region is the United States' "priority theater" and won't allow China to push the United States and its allies out of the region, the Department of Defense announced Friday in a news release. Instead, deterrence will be the primary tool by which the United States and its allies will counter any aggressive moves made by China, particularly in the South China Sea and against Taiwan. "As our allies share the burden, we can increase our focus on the Indo-Pacific," Hegseth said, adding that the region is the nation's "priority theater." He said the futures of the United States and its allies in the Indo-Pacific depend on each other. "We share a vision of peace and stability, of prosperity and security," Hegseth said, "and we are here to stay." Common sense and national interests with guide policy making in the region, while respecting mutual self-interests. President Donald Trump is working to get European nations to do more to increase their respective national security interests instead of largely relying on the United States. As European nations do more to protect themselves, Hegseth said the United States will be better able to focus on matters in the Indo-Pacific region and do more to thwart Chinese aggression. "This enables all of us to benefit from the peace and stability that comes with a lasting and strong American presence here in the Indo-Pacific," Hegseth said. That presence won't come at a cost for the nation's allies, though. "We are not here to pressure other countries to embrace and adopt our politics or ideology," Hegseth told the audience. "We are all sovereign nations." He said the United States does not "seek conflict with communist China." But the United States "will not be pushed out of this critical region," Hegseth added. "And we will not let our allies and partners be subordinated and intimidated." He said China's leaders are "preparing to use military force to alter the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific," including occupying Taiwan. Any move by China to take over Taiwan, which China has claimed as part of its sovereign state, would trigger "devastating consequences" for the region and the world, Hegseth told the audience. "The threat China poses is real, and it could be imminent," he said, adding that the United States and its allies must be prepared with "urgency and vigilance." If deterrence doesn't work and a fighting war is inevitable, "we are prepared to do what the Department of Defense does best: to fight and win decisively," Hegseth said. The best way to ensure peace is to prepare for war, "but we have to do this quickly," he said. "We have no time to waste."
CBC
3 days ago
- Business
- CBC
The time when foreign invasions were impossible is over, former diplomats tell defence conference
Social Sharing At the onset of the First World War, Britain's veritable foreign secretary, Sir Edward Grey, remarked that the lamps were going out all over Europe and "we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime." The metaphor has long been considered as the unofficial epitaph to what at the time was the longest run of peace and prosperity on the continent. The retelling of that story has become commonplace since the invasion of Ukraine. It was hard not to think of it this week when listening to both a former NATO secretary general and the man who was Lithuania's foreign minister as they each delivered stark assessments of where the world is going and how it got here. Neither Lord George Robertson, who led the Western military alliance from 1999 to 2003, nor Gabrielius Landsbergis, the Baltic nation's top diplomat for years, argued that we're on the cusp of war. Rather, they both called for clear-eyed deterrence as they delivered separate, sobering messages at the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries annual gathering of defence contractors in Ottawa, known as CANSEC. Even still. The post-Cold War era where nations didn't have to worry about their sovereignty and territorial defence is over, Robertson told the conference. "That world has evaporated, and it will not return even in our children's lifetime," he said. NATO's Article 5 — the pledge of collective defence and that an attack on one was an attack on all — gets all of the attention, Robertson said. But he argued that the third article of the Washington Treaty, which established NATO in 1949, will get more and more attention in the coming months and years. That clause says members must have the individual and collective capacity to resist an armed attack. "In other words, there is an obligation to defend your own homeland, an obligation that was, too often in the past, overlooked as we've looked at the [terrorist] enemy abroad," Robertson said. "There's no longer room for business as usual." It's been that way for more than a decade, he said, following the Russian annexation of Crimea. "As we see every day in the east of Ukraine, the threat of naked aggression and wonton violence in the Euro Atlantic region — it's no longer theoretical, no longer just a remote possibility," Robertson said. "It's real. It's brutal and it's very, very close to us." The challenge today for nations, including Canada, is to stop believing that some things, such as invasions, are impossible. "We need to be alert and wide awake," said Robertson, who admitted in a later interview to being frustrated with Canada's anemic record of defence spending. But he added he's encouraged to see promises to do more from Prime Minister Mark Carney's government. Canada is hoping to soon sign on to a major $1.25-trillion European Union defence-industrial plan known as ReArm Europe. Landsbergis was intensely critical of European leaders, who he says have been hitting the snooze button on defence since the 2008 Russian invasion of neighbouring Georgia. His reaction to the ReArm Europe plan could be summed up in two words: about time. "We're finally starting to see our leaders talk about serious money," Landsbergis said. "The European ReArm plan might be the first step in the right direction." Landsbergis said Europe simply allowed the crisis to build following Russia's annexation of Crimea, rather than taking decisive action. It has been, he said, a wasted decade. "During that time, Europeans said all the right things, but unfortunately very little preparation," Landsbergis said. "After the 2022 [Ukraine] invasion, there was hope that the situation would change dramatically and European factories would start rolling out tanks, howitzers and ammunition. This happened, but not to the extent that one would have hoped." WATCH | Canada plans military buildup in the Arctic: Canada plans Arctic military expansion as part of sovereignty push 15 days ago Duration 2:02 Canada is planning a major Arctic military expansion, boosting its presence by several months each year and inviting more NATO troops to join. The move aims to assert sovereignty and respond to pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump. NATO does its best to put things in context, saying over the past decade, European allies and Canada have steadily increased their collective investment in defence — from 1.43 per cent of their combined gross domestic product in 2014, to 2.02 per cent in 2024. (Canada currently sits at 1.37 percent of GDP) The increase represents $485 billion US in defence, the alliance says. Landsbergis's criticism, however, was not restricted to the political establishment. He said defence contractors and the corporate world have been equally stuck on the notion of business as usual. "Every conversation I had with defense industry representatives during the years of war would end with a phrase: 'I'm not building anything until you show me the money,'" he said. "And that was the crux of the problem. Europe would talk nice but spend little and business leaders, Putin or anyone who's good at math would see right through it." The lack of urgency, Landsbergis said, was evident in Ukraine's life-and-death fight to hold the line from the advancing Russian army. As a Lithuanian who understands life under Russian occupation, the arming of Ukraine in fits and starts was painful to watch, he said. "Whenever another baby step is taken, I must show gratitude and whisper to myself, 'Better late than never,'" Landsbergis said.
Wall Street Journal
5 days ago
- General
- Wall Street Journal
Trump's Foreign Policy Crossroads
President Trump's foreign policy has been coasting so far on his verbal threats and public cajoling. But he'll soon face moments of decision on U.S. adversaries that will echo throughout his second term and could determine his legacy. The first year of presidencies often sets the tone for the events that follow on foreign policy. Joe Biden's Afghan withdrawal gutted U.S. deterrence and convinced Vladimir Putin and Iran's mullahs they'd meet little resistance if they sought military gains. Barack Obama let China occupy islands in the South China Sea and steal U.S. secrets with little resistance.
