5 days ago
36
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth connected Saturday told allies successful the Indo-Pacific that the U.S. has their backmost against expanding subject and economical unit from China, portion insisting that they besides lend much to their ain defense.
Hegseth said the U.S. volition bolster its defenses overseas to antagonistic what the Pentagon views arsenic rapidly processing threats by China, peculiarly toward Taiwan, which Beijing claims arsenic its own. China has conducted galore exercises to trial what a blockade of the land would look like.
The Chinese army "is rehearsing for the existent deal," Hegseth said successful a keynote code astatine a information league successful Singapore. "We are not going to sugarcoat it — the menace China poses is real. And it could beryllium imminent."
DEFENSE DEPARTMENT WORKERS NO LONGER REQUIRED TO SUBMIT DOGE'S WEEKLY PRODUCTION REPORTS
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth connected Saturday told allies successful the Indo-Pacific that the U.S. has their backmost against expanding unit from China. (AP)
China has said it wants its subject to beryllium successful a presumption to instrumentality Taiwan by unit if indispensable by 2027.
China is nary longer gathering up its subject forces to instrumentality Taiwan, but it is "actively grooming for it, each day," Hegseth said connected Saturday.
Not lone has China created man-made islands successful the South China Sea to enactment caller subject outposts, but it has besides developed highly precocious hypersonic and abstraction capabilities, prompting the U.S. to statesman creating the "Golden Dome."
HEGSETH DENIES CLAIM THAT GOLDEN DOME IS 'OFFENSIVE': 'PROTECTING THE HOMELAND'
Hegseth said the Chinese service "is rehearsing for the existent deal" and the menace it poses could beryllium imminent. (AP)
In his speech, Hegseth called retired China's ambitions successful Latin America, specifically attempts to summation power implicit the Panama Canal.
He besides urged countries successful the portion to summation their defence spending to beryllium successful enactment with the percent of gross home merchandise that European nations are being pressed to contribute.
"We indispensable each bash our part," Hegseth said.
China has said it wants its subject to beryllium successful a presumption to instrumentality Taiwan by unit if indispensable by 2027. (AP)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The European Union's apical diplomat, Kaja Kallas, pushed backmost against Hegseth aft his code for a remark helium made astir European countries putting absorption connected defending their ain portion portion the U.S. mostly handles the Indo-Pacific.
Kallas said European and Asian security are "very overmuch interlinked" astatine the infinitesimal arsenic North Korean troops are warring for Russia and China is supporting Moscow.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
English (US) ·