{"id":20355,"date":"2026-05-31T01:05:51","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T01:05:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/2026\/05\/31\/pentagon-chief-sounds-alarm-over-chinas-buildup-urges-allies-to-boost-defense-spend-rappler\/"},"modified":"2026-05-31T01:05:51","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T01:05:51","slug":"pentagon-chief-sounds-alarm-over-chinas-buildup-urges-allies-to-boost-defense-spend-rappler","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/2026\/05\/31\/pentagon-chief-sounds-alarm-over-chinas-buildup-urges-allies-to-boost-defense-spend-rappler\/","title":{"rendered":"Pentagon chief sounds \u2018alarm\u2019 over China\u2019s buildup, urges allies to boost defense spend &#8211; Rappler"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Already have Rappler+? <br \/><button>Sign in<\/button> to listen to groundbreaking journalism.<br \/>SUMMARY<br \/>This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\tHEGSETH. Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles and British Defense Secretary John Healey look on as US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during an AUKUS Defence ministers&#039; press huddle at the US Embassy in Singapore, May 30, 2026. \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\tREUTERS\/Edgar Su\t\t\t\t\t<br \/>SINGAPORE \u2013 US\u00a0Defense\u00a0Secretary <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rappler.com\/world\/us-canada\/united-states-pete-hegseth-broker-defense-fund-iran-attack\/\">Pete Hegseth<\/a> urged Asian\u00a0allies\u00a0on Saturday, May 30, to ramp up military\u00a0spending to counter\u00a0China&#8217;s\u00a0growing power and prevent its dominance in the region, warning of &#8220;rightful alarm&#8221;\u00a0over\u00a0its rapid military\u00a0buildup.<br \/>Hegseth, speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Asia&#8217;s premier forum for\u00a0defense\u00a0leaders, militaries and diplomats, said a stronger, more self-reliant network of\u00a0allies\u00a0is essential to deter aggression and preserve the balance of power.<br \/>&#8220;There is rightful alarm regarding&nbsp;China&#8217;s&nbsp;historic military&nbsp;buildup&nbsp;and the expansion of its military activities in the region and beyond,&#8221; he said.<br \/>&#8220;A Pacific dominated by any hegemon would unravel the regional balance of power,&#8221; Hegseth said. &#8220;No state, including China, can impose its hegemony and hold the security or prosperity of our nation and our&nbsp;allies&nbsp;in question.&#8221;<br \/>The US expects its Asian\u00a0allies\u00a0and partners to increase\u00a0defense\u00a0spending to 3.5% of GDP as it pledged a $1.5 trillion investment in its military, the\u00a0Pentagon\u00a0chief\u00a0said.<br \/>&#8220;Less Shangri-La, more ships, more subs,&#8221; Hegseth said,\u00a0stressing that the region needed greater\u00a0defense\u00a0capability than conferences.\u00a0Allies\u00a0want stability, not escalation,\u00a0he said.<br \/>&#8220;What they want, and what the United States delivers, is strength that is disciplined, resolve that is steady, and leadership that is confident enough to speak and walk softly while carrying a big stick.&#8221;<br \/>Hegseth also struck a measured tone on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rappler.com\/world\/asia-pacific\/china-xi-jinping-ties-us-donald-trump-may-2026\/\">US-China ties<\/a>, saying relations are &#8220;better than they have been in many years,&#8221; with more frequent military-to-military engagement helping to manage tensions.<br \/>&#8220;We are meeting more frequently with our Chinese counterparts by maintaining open lines of military-to-military communication.&#8221;<br \/>Zhou Bo, a senior fellow at Tsinghua University and retired People\u2019s Liberation Army senior colonel who was part of the Chinese delegation, described US-China relations as &#8220;complicated.&#8221;<br \/>Nonetheless, he said Hegseth struck &#8220;a much better tone&#8221; this year than last, attributing the shift to Trump\u2019s visit to China.<br \/>&#8220;Both sides have open channels of communication, the situation is not as exaggerated as the outside world makes it out to be,&#8221; Zhou said.<br \/>China, whose\u00a0defense\u00a0minister is\u00a0skipping the dialogue\u00a0for a second consecutive year, accused Hegseth last year of making\u00a0&#8220;vilifying&#8221;\u00a0remarks.<br \/>Hegseth echoed President Donald Trump&#8217;s long-standing demand that\u00a0allies\u00a0shoulder more of their own\u00a0defense\u00a0costs. Trump has pointedly said European and NATO partners should reduce reliance on Washington.<br \/>&#8220;The era of the United States subsidizing the\u00a0defense\u00a0of wealthy nations is\u00a0over,&#8221; Hegseth said. &#8220;We need partners, not protectorates,&#8221; he added. &#8220;We don&#8217;t have a strong alliance unless everyone has skin in the game. No freeloading.&#8221;<br \/>Hegseth praised contributions from\u00a0allies\u00a0including South Korea, the Philippines, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, and said Japan was taking concrete steps to bolster its\u00a0defenses.<br \/>Tokyo and Washington &#8220;must each pull our weight to strengthen the US-Japan alliance,\u201d he said.<br \/>On the Middle East conflict, Hegseth said the United States stands ready to resume strikes on Iran if diplomacy fails, as negotiators from Washington and Tehran work to bridge major differences blocking a deal.<br \/>&#8220;Our ability to recommence if necessary&#8230;we are more than capable,&#8221; Hegseth said. He added that Trump remains &#8220;patient&#8221; and is seeking a &#8220;strong deal&#8221; to ensure Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon.<br \/>Trump said on Friday he would convene advisers in a secure White House setting to make a\u00a0&#8220;final determination&#8221;\u00a0on a proposal to end the Iran war.<br \/>Hegseth also pushed back on concerns the conflict would distract from Asia-Pacific priorities.<br \/>&#8220;We can do two things at one time.&#8221;<br \/>In his speech, Hegseth made no mention of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rappler.com\/world\/asia-pacific\/n33005644-taiwan\/\">Taiwan<\/a>, a hotspot in relations between the US and China.<br \/>When asked&nbsp;about arms sales to&nbsp;the island&nbsp;during questions that followed,&nbsp;Hegseth downplayed concerns that a multi-billion-dollar package could be affected as the United States draws down its weapons stockpiles amid the Middle East conflict. &#8220;We feel very good about our stockpiles and how we use them,&#8221; he said.<br \/>Taiwan, which China views as its own territory, has been waiting for the US to approve an arms sale that Reuters \u200breported could be worth up to $14 billion.<br \/>Trump sowed uncertainty in Taipei by saying, after meeting \u200bChina&#8217;s&nbsp;President Xi Jinping this month, that he was undecided on whether to approve the package.<br \/>Any decision on future arms sales would rest with President Trump, Hegseth said, signalling no shift in Washington\u2019s longstanding approach despite recent engagement with Beijing.<br \/>&#8220;Those decisions will depend on the president and the nature of that relationship,&#8221; Hegseth said. &#8220;There\u2019s been no change in our status.&#8221; \u2013 <strong>Rappler.com<\/strong><br \/>How does this make you feel?<br \/>follow us<br \/> \t\t\tChecking your Rappler+ subscription&#8230;\t\t \t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"loading\"><\/div>\n<p> \t\t\tUpgrade to <span class=\"rapplerplus-logo\" style=\"background: url(https:\/\/www.rappler.com\/content\/themes\/rappler\/src\/images\/rapplerplus-logo.svg) no-repeat center \/ contain\"><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Rappler+<\/span><\/span> for exclusive content and unlimited access.\t\t<br \/> \t\t\tWhy is it important to subscribe? \t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rappler.com\/plus-membership-program\/frequently-asked-questions\/\">Learn more<\/a> \t\t<br \/> \t\t\tYou are subscribed to <span class=\"rapplerplus-logo\" style=\"background: url(https:\/\/www.rappler.com\/content\/themes\/rappler\/src\/images\/rapplerplus-logo.svg) no-repeat center \/ contain\"><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Rappler+<\/span><\/span>\t\t<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/rss\/articles\/CBMisAFBVV95cUxPZlJiVWRPMDZvdU1zTHRWZ25vc1ZfUkFQemJRRlpoQ2xseWxwY25NTEZsVWhtVEpZSkFUR3N1UHNMTWVwMnZWcXpmUkNxWXdyQ3pMblNYeWc3bjNvYXdranp5TnFPcUQzcThBNVZNQjVIcVFFOXkwWXFkdUM1OTcwdHFkMFQ4V0xILS1fbXplZFk2VW9GSDBnWFhVbTVBREpHdUF0UnduWE5UWWZPRlZ6UA?oc=5\">source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Already have Rappler+? Sign in to listen to groundbreaking journalism.SUMMARYThis is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article. HEGSETH. Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles and British Defense Secretary John Healey look on as US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during an AUKUS Defence ministers&#039; press huddle [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20356,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20355","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20355"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20355\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20356"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}