In Singapore, War Secretary tells Asian leaders to spend more on military so they can get more from the US

SINGAPORE: United States Secretary of War Pete Hegseth was in Singapore last weekend for the Shangri-La Dialogue, where he delivered plenary remarks on Saturday morning, May 30. 

The yearly meeting, organised by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), is the premier defence summit in Asia, where key stakeholders discuss important security challenges in the region.

In his speech, Mr Hegseth encouraged Asian countries to spend more on defence, and praised the nations in the region that have allocated a greater part of their budget for expanding military capabilities, including Australia, Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam. 

“President Trump believes in helping countries that help themselves. The era of the United States subsidising the defence of wealthy nations is over,” he said.

Mr Hegseth also said that the US would place its most committed partners at “the front of the line” for support from the global superpower. The War Secretary suggested that the US remain firm in its commitment to its allies in the region, on the condition that these allies also do their part.

Interestingly, he did not include Taiwan in the list of allies praised for higher military spending. Taiwan had raised its military budget to 3% gross domestic product.

In fact, as the New York Times pointed out, while Mr Hegseth had mentioned Taiwan five times in last year’s Shangri-La Dialogue, there was no mention of Taiwan at all this year, earning criticism from Senator Tammy Duckworth, who expressed concerns over the US “cosying up” to China. The senator was also part of the US delegation in Singapore for the Shangri-La Dialogue.

Mr Hegseth also sought to reassure representatives from the Asia-Pacific that the US is not abandoning the region as it deals with the conflict in the Middle East. 

”We can do two things at one time,” he said.

The War Secretary said that more weapons would allow the US to “speak softly” while yielding a “big stick.”

While the Vietnamese President Tô Lâm, who had given the keynote address, emphasised the need for more dialogue to resolve regional conflicts, Mr Hegseth had a different opinion and aimed the “empty globalist rhetoric about the rules-based international order”.

“Rules are great, but if you can’t back them up with hard power, the rules are not worth the paper they are written on. We don’t need more conferences, we need more combat power… less Shangri-La Dialogue, more ships and more subs,” he said. /TISG

Read also: US War Secretary headed to Singapore; to meet with PM Wong, Chan Chun Sing & speak at Shangri-La Dialogue