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.
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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.
“We respect their ambitions,” he added. “We know that they have a significant military buildup that comes with considerations we have to take as a sovereign nation to ensure that we’re prepared for any possible contingency. And at the same time, our position hasn’t changed on Taiwan.”
The official U.S. policy on Taiwan supports backing the self-governing island’s military through arms sales, but it does not recognize the nation’s sovereignty. China claims authority over Taiwan and has been hinting at potential military action for some time.
Despite diplomatic ties between the U.S. and Taiwan, the Pentagon recently paused a $14 billion arms deal as the U.S. military fights in Iran. Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao told senators last week that the pause was made because of the war’s demand for U.S. munitions, but Hegseth denied the two were connected.
“Hung Cao is fantastic, but I would not couple the two in any way at all,” he told reporters in Singapore. “And I feel good about not only where we are, but where we are in future production rates as well.”
Hegseth reiterated that Trump holds the sole authority over future arms sales to Taiwan.
“Any decision about future Taiwan arms sales, as the president said, will rest with him and as a nature of that relationship,” he said. “And certainly, having been there for those meetings in Beijing, there’s no change in our status there.”
TAIWAN WILL LIKELY PLAY ITS SILICON ‘TRUMP CARD’ IN SECURITY TALKS WITH THE US
Trump was previously set to speak with Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te, but CBS News reported that the call has been put on hold. Beijing strongly opposes any such conversation from taking place.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to meet with Trump at the White House in late September, though he has not accepted the invitation yet. This would mark their second private meeting this year after the two-day summit earlier this month.
