Hegseth at Shangri-La Dialogue warns China, urges allies to boost defense spending to 3.5% of GDP

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on May 30 told the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore that the United States seeks a “genuinely stable equilibrium” in Asia and “a favorable but durable balance of power in which no state, including China, can impose its hegemony.” Hegseth called on Asian allies to increase defense spending to 3.5% of their GDP, declaring: “The era of the United States subsidizing the defense of wealthy nations is over. We need partners, not protectorates.” He also said the US is “more than capable” of resuming the war with Iran if necessary.

“We do not approach this challenge with needless confrontation but with the posture of measured and deliberate strength,” Hegseth said. He praised defense buildups in Japan, South Korea, Australia, and the Philippines. In response to a question, Hegseth categorized New Zealand as a “freeloader”; New Zealand’s defense minister later said his country was “not a freeloader.”

Hegseth did not mention Taiwan in his speech. When asked about the paused $14 billion arms sale to Taiwan, he said “any decision about future Taiwan arms sales will rest with” President Donald Trump. Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said “some countries might underestimate” US commitment and may want to “drive a wedge” between the US and its allies.

Hegseth said US relations with Beijing are “better than they have been in many years.” China declined to send its defense minister to the Shangri-La Dialogue for the second consecutive year, sending a lower-level delegation instead.

The US and Israel launched their war on Iran on Feb. 28, 2026. A tentative framework agreement to extend the Iran war ceasefire by 60 days was reached on May 28, but Trump had not signed off as of May 30. Hegseth said the US is “more than capable” of resuming strikes, adding: “Our stockpiles are more than suited for that, both there and around the globe.”

Muhammad Faizal Bin Abdul Rahman, a research fellow at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said it was “uncertain if [Hegseth’s] language of war will resonate well with Asian countries.”