SINGAPORE: US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will try to convince Asian defense leaders this weekend that the United States is a more trusted partner for the region than China, US officials told Reuters, as questions linger about the Trump administration\u2019s commitment to the region.
\nHegseth, who has spent a large portion of his first months on the job focused on domestic issues, countering diversity, equity and inclusion in the military and taking aim at the press, will make his first extended remarks in Singapore on Saturday about how he envisions US defense policy in the Indo-Pacific.
\nHe will be addressing the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia\u2019s premier security forum, which runs this year from May 31-June 1. Defense ministers, senior military and security officials and diplomats from around the world are expected to attend. French President Emmanuel Macron will deliver the keynote address on Friday.
\n\u201cSecretary Hegseth is going to make the case to Asian allies about why the United States is a better partner than the CCP,\u201d said a senior US defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
\nThe official, who was using an acronym for China\u2019s Communist Party, said Hegseth had the opportunity to take advantage of Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun\u2019s expected absence from the dialogue, where US and Chinese delegates have locked horns in previous years.
\nHegseth\u2019s speech will be closely watched as it comes after President Donald Trump has lashed out at traditional allies, most recently with tariffs.
\nHegseth has also roiled allies in Europe. In February, he warned Europe against treating America like a \u201csucker\u201d while addressing a press conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
\n\u201cThere\u2019s certainly uncertainty being expressed, and sometimes I think it\u2019s probably fair to characterize it as a concern,\u201d a second senior US defense official said, referring to anxiety among Asian allies.
\nGeneral Dan Caine, the recently confirmed US chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is also expected to attend the dialogue.
\nSome of the Trump administration\u2019s early moves in the Indo-Pacific have raised eyebrows. The US moved air defense systems from Asia to the Middle East earlier this year as tensions with Iran spiked \u2014 an effort which took 73 C-17 flights.
\nBut Hegseth visited the Philippines and Japan in March, a trip in which experts said the secretary stuck by the more traditional importance of allies.
\nEly Ratner, who was the Pentagon\u2019s top official on China under the Biden administration, said allies in Asia were seeking a consistent policy from Hegseth.
\n\u201cThe region will be watching closely as to whether the US secretary of defense that shows up at Shangri-la looks like the one that traveled to the Philippines and Japan or has more of the harder edge that we\u2019ve seen from the Trump administration in Europe,\u201d said Ratner.
\nHegseth, a former Fox News host, was only narrowly confirmed as defense secretary in January. He has moved with stunning speed to reshape the department, firing top generals and admirals as he seeks to implement Trump\u2019s national security agenda.
\nHis leadership has been under intense scrutiny after it was revealed that he shared sensitive war plans on Yemen\u2019s Iran-aligned Houthis in two signal group chats. Trump has stuck by him through the turmoil.
\nHegseth will likely get a friendly audience at the Shangri-La Dialogue, said Greg Poling, with the Center for Strategic and International Studies think-tank.
\n\u201cAsian allies, and particularly the Philippines, feel a lot more reassured than our European allies, but there\u2019s always going to be that voice in the back of their head,\u201d Poling said.
\nDemocratic Senator Tammy Duckworth, who is co-leading a bi-partisan delegation to the Shangri-la Dialogue, said her aim was to reassure Asian allies that the United States was committed, a message she said Hegseth was not capable of delivering.
\n\u201cHe\u2019s only got this job because he sucked up to President Trump and looked good on Fox News. So let\u2019s be clear about the capabilities of the secretary of defense,\u201d Duckworth told Reuters. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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