Pete Hegseth warns Chinese military action against Taiwan ‘could be imminent’

US Defense Secretary Beit Higseth warned that a Chinese military attack on Taiwan “could be imminent” and called on America’s allies in the Indian Pacific Ocean to enhance defense spending as an additional deterrent to Beijing.

Speaking at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue Forum in Singapore on Saturday, Higseth said China wanted to become a hegemony force in Asia and was behaving in a way that should be a breaking “waking up”.

He said: “Any attempt by Communist China to conquer Taiwan will lead to devastating consequences for the Indian Pacific and the world.”

“There is no reason to treat sugar. The threat that China poses is real, and it may be imminent. We hope it will not be, but it may definitely be.”

US intelligence officials and military officials said president Xi Jinping had asked the Chinese army to develop the ability to invade Taiwan by 2027. But while they were increasingly concerned about the rapid military rise in China, most officials stressed that the attack was not imminent.

On his second trip to Asia as Minister of Defense, Higseth said that the American partners in the region should follow the “new example” of Europe in pledging to enhance defense spending, saying, “Time is the essence.”

It is not logical for the countries of Europe to do so while the main allies in Asia spend less on defense in the face of a more enormous threat. [from China]Not to mention North Korea. “

Higseth said that no one should doubt the American commitment to its allies in the region and that it remained the Indian and the Pacific Ocean “the theater of priority” for the United States,

While Joe Biden has accused the United States, it seems that many of the policies he made clear are a continuation of the measures presented by the former president. “Nearly the full continuity,” said Elie Ratner, the Pentagon official in Asia in the Biden administration.

Higseth said that the United States “does not seek conflict” with China, but it “will not let our allies and our partners follow.” He pointed out that China was using its electronic capabilities to attack the critical infrastructure in the United States and beyond and was annoying its neighbors, including Taiwan, in the South China Sea.

He added: “Shy something ordered his army to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027.” “the [People’s Liberation Army] Building the army needed to do so, training for that every day and exercising for the real deal. “

Higseth said that many countries “were tending to the idea of ​​searching for both economic cooperation with China and defense cooperation with the United States.” But he warned that the economic dependence on China “complicates our decision space during times of tension or conflict.”

When asked about the role that the European armies should play in the Indian Pacific Ocean, Higseth said, “One big one”, before adding that Washington prefers to focus its efforts on the European Atlantic region.

He said that there is “something that can be said about the fact that China … they cannot exist other countries [in the region] Sometimes, “it can be” useful “if Beijing is affected by the presence of European armies in the calculus calculation.

But he stressed: “We prefer a lot to be the huge balance of European investment on that continent.”

Kaja Callas, the European Union’s Supreme Foreign policy official, reminded the forum that former Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida confirmed that the role of theaters in the Atlantic and Indian Indian in one area had a security share in the other.

Class FT told that it had particularly stressed Higseth that the two regions were “very interrelated” from a security perspective.

“We are doing more for our defense, but we need to be there for our partners [in Asia]Callas said, adding that the interests of the European Union in Asia ranged from maritime security to cybersecurity.

Class noticed that the Economies of the European Union, the United States and other countries have concerns about China – Australia, Canada, India, Japan, South Korea, Mexico and New Zealand – amounted to $ 60 trillion, compared to 18 Trio for China. “This also becomes a military deterrent,” she said.

Callas said that the economic argument is “echo” with Higseth. But she added that the commercial wars launched by President Donald Trump were undermining efforts to confront China.

“They believe that the presence of these commercial wars with everyone makes it stronger. I actually think it makes all alliances and all allies … weaker when you want to confront the economic power that China enjoys,” said Class said.

Class said that she asked Higseth if the United States was concerned that its discourse – especially on Taiwan – has the ability to raise a miscalculation in Beijing. He said that the United States did not see it in this way and confirmed that Washington was not seeking to conflict with China.

Zach Cooper, a defense expert in Asia at the center of thought at the Institute of American Institutions, said that Higseth “hedge” his response to the European role in Asia.

“It seemed that it indicates that the presence of a European in Asia could be useful to deter China, but he also made it clear that Europe still gives the priorities of operations in its region,” Cooper said.

China returned against Higseth later on Saturday, accusing the United States of trying to “provoke, divide, incite confrontation and excite the region.”

The Admiral Ho Janjanj, Vice President of the Chinese National Defense University, described his comments “manufacturing a black and white reversal” and said that he was a “crying thief who picks up the thief.”