US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth delivers an address during the 23rd Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore on May 30, 2026. (Photo by JAM STA ROSA / AFP via Getty Images)
SINGAPORE — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth today heaped praise on US allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific for stepping up defense spending and improving their capabilities, saying that peace and prosperity in the region must be underwritten through strength from the US and its regional allies.
However, he notably did not reference Taiwan by name during his speech at the opening plenary at the Shangri-la Dialogue security conference in Singapore, instead emphasizing that the US was working towards a durable balance of power in the region where no one country can dominate.
Hegseth cast that view as shared by regional partners and allies, who he said were alarmed at China’s historic military buildup and its growing military activities in the region and beyond.
“We share a clear-eyed assessment of that security environment and a mutual understanding that a Pacific dominated by any hegemon would unravel the regional balance of power and undermine the equilibrium we all seek to preserve,” he said in his speech.
