War Secretary Pete Hegseth softened his rhetoric on China without mentioning Taiwan during his speech at a security summit in Singapore.The Cabinet official’s remarks at the Shangri-La Dialogue came over two weeks after he joined President Donald Trump on an official state visit to Beijing.On Saturday, Hegseth exhibited a softer stance on China compared to his speech at the same summit last year. For instance, he did not call the foreign nation “communist” or reference its military buildup in the Indo-Pacific region. He also refrained from mentioning a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, which has been a concern of the U.S. government.
Instead, Hegseth vaguely said no “hegemon” should dominate the region. The comment could refer to China or the United States.
Following the security conference, reporters asked Hegseth if he adopted a “softer” stance toward China. The secretary indicated the U.S. is willing to cooperate with China while simultaneously demonstrating its strength. In answering reporters’ questions, he also addressed Taiwan.
“I think our message today was very much in sync with precisely where the president wants to go, which is we’re going to be strong, but we can speak softly while carrying that big stick and be very clear about the fact that there are places where we can work together with China,” he said at the U.S. Embassy in Singapore.
