China ‘Rehearsing’ For Taiwan Invasion, Warns US Defence Secretary; Discusses Indo-Pacific, India, QUAD

<p>US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth on Saturday warned that China was &ldquo;credibly preparing&rdquo; to use military force to alter the balance of power in Asia, while asserting that the United States was &ldquo;here to stay&rdquo; in the Indo-Pacific region.</p>
<p>Speaking at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore, Hegseth issued a strong caution about China&rsquo;s growing military capabilities and actions, stating, &ldquo;The threat China poses is real and it could be imminent.&rdquo; According to news agency AFP, he alleged that Beijing was preparing to potentially use military force to shift power dynamics in the Indo-Pacific, including building the capabilities to invade Taiwan and &ldquo;rehearsing for the real deal&rdquo;.</p>
<p>His remarks come amid heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing over trade, technology, and regional influence. Since assuming office, US President Donald Trump has engaged in a trade war with China, restricted its access to advanced AI technologies, and strengthened security alliances, particularly with countries like the Philippines, which is currently facing escalating maritime disputes with Beijing.</p>
<p>Calling China&rsquo;s behaviour a &ldquo;wake-up call&rdquo;, Hegseth accused Beijing of endangering lives through cyber attacks, harassing its neighbours, and &ldquo;illegally seizing and militarising lands&rdquo; in the South China Sea. He reiterated that the United States was &ldquo;reorienting toward deterring aggression by communist China&rdquo; and urged Asian allies to upgrade their military capabilities swiftly.</p>
<p>Beijing, which claims nearly the entire South China Sea despite an international ruling invalidating its claims, has seen repeated confrontations with the Philippines in recent months. As Hegseth spoke, China&rsquo;s military announced that its navy and air force were conducting &ldquo;combat readiness patrols&rdquo; around Scarborough Shoal, a disputed area with the Philippines.</p>
<p>Chinese delegates at the summit sharply criticised Hegseth&rsquo;s address. Da Wei, Director of the Center for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University, described the speech as &ldquo;very unfriendly&rdquo; and &ldquo;very confrontational&rdquo;, accusing the United States of applying double standards by urging China to respect its neighbours while allegedly bullying countries like Canada and Greenland.</p>
<p>Former Senior Colonel Zhou Bo of the same university told AFP that China&rsquo;s military drills should not be interpreted as preparations for an invasion, saying the Chinese government still sought &ldquo;peaceful reunification&rdquo; with Taiwan.</p>
<p>Hegseth also reaffirmed the US&rsquo;s commitment to strengthening ties in the Indo-Pacific, calling it &ldquo;America&rsquo;s priority theatre&rdquo;. He pledged, &ldquo;China cannot dominate us &mdash; or our allies and partners,&rdquo; while emphasising stepped-up cooperation with allies including Japan and the Philippines. &ldquo;Deterrence doesn&rsquo;t come on the cheap,&rdquo; he said, urging partners in the region to increase defence spending and take cues from NATO allies like Germany.</p>
<h3><strong>US ‘Expanding Our Security Partnerships With India’: Pete Hegseth</strong></h3>
<p>Highlighting the expanding US-India defence ties, Hegseth noted robust military exercises such as Tiger Triumph and growing cooperation within multilateral frameworks like the QUAD &mdash; a strategic partnership between India, the US, Japan, and Australia. &ldquo;We are expanding our security partnerships with India through robust military exercises like Tiger Triumph and amplifying cooperation within the QUAD and other multilateral friendly groups,&rdquo; he said, according to ANI.</p>
<p>He also mentioned the Indo-Pacific Logistic Network, a QUAD-led initiative to leverage logistics capabilities among partner nations. &ldquo;We will continue to wrap our arms around our friends and find new ways to work together, not only with our treaty allies here but also with our key defence partners in ASEAN and the Indo-Pacific,&rdquo; he added.</p>
<p>Calling the US-India defence partnership a cornerstone, Hegseth stated, &ldquo;Look no further than our growing defence relationship with India, where we pass new milestones by the day &mdash; from the shared venture of our defence industries to the increased operational coordination and interoperability within our military.&rdquo;</p>
<h3><strong>US Will Not Instigate China, Doesn’t Seek To Subjugate Or Humiliate: Hegseth</strong></h3>
<p>Outlining the Trump administration&rsquo;s foreign policy vision, Hegseth said it was rooted in &ldquo;common sense&rdquo; and &ldquo;national interest&rdquo;, not moralising. &ldquo;The United States is not interested in the moralistic, preachy approach of the foreign policy of the past. We are not here to pressure other countries to embrace or adopt policies or ideologies&hellip; We are all sovereign nations,&rdquo; he remarked.</p>
<p>On China, he clarified, &ldquo;We do not seek conflict with communist China. We will not instigate, nor seek to subjugate, nor humiliate. President Trump and the American people have immense respect for the Chinese people and their civilisation. But we will not be pushed out of this critical region.&rdquo;</p>
<p>He concluded with a stern warning that any attempt by China to take Taiwan by force would have devastating consequences for the Indo-Pacific and the wider world.</p>
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-media-max-width=”560″>
<p dir=”ltr” lang=”en”>. <a href=”https://twitter.com/SecDef?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@SecDef</a> &ldquo;We do not seek conflict with communist China. We will not instigate nor seek to subjugate or humiliate. <br /><br />President Trump and the American people have immense respect for the Chinese people and their civilization. <br /><br />But we will not be pushed out of this critical region&hellip; <a href=”https://t.co/CIbXT4ilw1″>pic.twitter.com/CIbXT4ilw1</a></p>
&mdash; DOD Rapid Response (@DODResponse) <a href=”https://twitter.com/DODResponse/status/1928625167917297881?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>May 31, 2025</a></blockquote>
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<p>The Shangri-La Dialogue, organised by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), is regarded as Asia&rsquo;s premier defence summit, bringing together global defence ministers to discuss pressing security challenges and regional cooperation.</p>