US Defense Secretary Hegseth signals shift in Asia policy at Singapore summit as China skips dialogue

May 30, 2026

At a Singapore security summit, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signaled a policy shift, demanding allies increase defense spending to 3.5% of GDP and shoulder more security burdens. Amid doubts about U.S. reliability, Indo-Pacific nations are deepening their own defense ties. China's defense minister skipped the event for a second year, with its lower-level delegation engaging in confrontational behavior.

Hegseth Asia policy shift

▪At the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth urged regional partners to take on more of the security burden.
▪Hegseth's speech at the security summit did not mention Taiwan or the war in Iran.
▪In his address, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was largely silent on Beijing, only acknowledging the region's "rightful alarm" with China.

US ally burden-sharing demands

▪U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated that "the era of the United States subsidizing the defense of wealthy nations is over."
▪U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called for allies to increase their defense spending to 3.5 percent of their GDP.

Regional hedging on US reliability

▪Japan's Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi stated his belief that the U.S. commitment to the region was "unwavering."
▪Indo-Pacific nations are increasing their own defense capabilities and cooperation with each other, separate from the traditional U.S. security umbrella.
▪Despite public statements of confidence in the U.S., some regional officials are privately contemplating a "post-American region."

China's military purges

▪An ongoing purge in China's military has reportedly involved as many as 100 of its top military brass.
▪A former regional official suggested the purges indicate that Chinese leader Xi Jinping lacks confidence in the PLA's capabilities.

Chinese assertive conference behavior

▪A Chinese academic publicly confronted the top U.S. general in South Korea, and a Chinese military officer asked Japan's defense minister for a WWII apology.
▪Germany's chief of defense, General Carsten Breuer, said China was "losing a chance" at dialogue by not sending a minister.
▪China's defense minister Dong Jun did not attend the Shangri-La Dialogue for the second consecutive year.
▪China sent a lower-level delegation to the conference, led by Major General Meng Xiangqing from the PLA National Defence University.

Allied security cooperation efforts

▪Canada is expanding its regional presence through cybersecurity and maritime exercises with Japan and the Philippines.
▪The Philippines is deepening defense ties with partners including Japan, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.
▪Japan aims to act as a "connecting point" for regional cooperation and in April overhauled its defense export rules to allow sales of warships and missiles.