The US must ensure peace through strength to deter Beijing from interfering with Washington’s long-standing national interests in the Indo-Pacific region, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said.
“It is our job to make sure Beijing sees unquestionable US military strength that, if necessary, can back up our national interests,” he told a US Congressional hearing on Thursday.
“This means ensuring none of our allies are vulnerable to sustained, successful military aggression,” he said. “We insist... on China respecting our long-standing interests in the Indo-Pacific.”
Photo: Reuters
Hegseth’s remarks came as the May 14 and 15 meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in Beijing nears, an event that has sparked trepidation in Taiwan and the nation’s supporters in Washington.
“We will be strong, but not confrontational... [We] are not trying to ‘strangle’ China’s growth, we are not trying to dominate or humiliate them, nor are we trying to change the ‘status quo’ over Taiwan,” Hegseth said.
He took part in hearings on the Trump administration’s proposed US$1.5 trillion defense budget for the fiscal year 2027 at the Armed Forces Committees of the US Senate and House of Representatives.
Second to homeland defense, deterring China in the Indo-Pacific region is the highest national security priority, Voice of America cited the US government’s report submitted to the committee as saying.
These priorities largely aligned with this year’s National Defense Strategy, the outlet added.
“Under President Trump’s leadership, relations between the United States and China are better and stronger than they have been in many years,” Hegseth said, adding that Washington does not seek confrontation with Beijing.
Trump and Xi had made a major breakthrough in trade, allowing both countries to develop their powerful economies, and the two countries would find more opportunities to improve ties in the upcoming leaders’ summit, he said.
The US Pentagon is committed to the same approach by “opening a wider range of military-to-military communications with the [Chinese] People’s Liberation Army — aimed at deconfliction and de-escalation,” Hegseth said.
The US Department of Defense’s policy is based on a “flexible realism [aiming] not at domination, but rather at a balanced relationship [and] a balance of power that will enable... all countries to enjoy a decent peace in the Indo-Pacific [region], where trade flows openly and fairly,” he said.
However, the US has “significant but scoped and reasonable” interests in the region, including ensuring itself and its allies are postured “strongly enough in the Indo-Pacific [region] to balance China’s growing power,” he added.
Hegseth called on US allies in the region to increase military spending as Washington shifts priorities to “homeland defense.”
“It is vitally important for America’s allies and partners to step up and do their part for our collective defense. This isn’t just a matter of doing right by Americans who are frustrated by years of allied free-riding. This is pragmatic. As we prioritize our homeland, hemisphere and the Indo-Pacific [region], threats persist in other regions — and our allies must step up,” he said.
PROVOCATIVE: Chinese Deputy Ambassador to the UN Sun Lei accused Japan of sending military vessels to deliberately provoke tensions in the Taiwan Strait China denounced remarks by Japan and the EU about the South China Sea at a UN Security Council meeting on Monday, and accused Tokyo of provocative behavior in the Taiwan Strait and planning military expansion. Ayano Kunimitsu, a Japanese vice foreign minister, told the Council meeting on maritime security that Tokyo was seriously concerned about the situation in the East China and South China seas, and reiterated Japan’s opposition to any attempt to change the “status quo” by force, and obstruction of freedom of navigation and overflight. Stavros Lambrinidis, head of the EU delegation to the UN, also highlighted South China Sea
The final batch of 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks purchased from the US arrived at Taipei Port last night and were transported to the Armor Training Command in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口), completing the military’s multi-year procurement of 108 of the tanks. Starting at 12:10am today, reporters observed more than a dozen civilian flatbed trailers departing from Taipei Port, each carrying an M1A2T tank covered with black waterproof tarps. Escorted by military vehicles, the convoy traveled via the West Coast Expressway to the Armor Training Command, with police implementing traffic control. The army operates about 1,000 tanks, including CM-11 Brave Tiger
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said it expects its 2-nanometer (2nm) chip capacity to grow at a compound annual rate of 70 percent from this year to 2028. The projection comes as five fabs begin volume production of 2-nanometer chips this year — two in Hsinchu and three in Kaohsiung — TSMC senior vice president and deputy cochief operating officer Cliff Hou (侯永清) said at the company’s annual technology symposium in Silicon Valley, California, last week. Output in the first year of 2-nanometer production, which began in the fourth quarter of last year, is expected to
Taiwan’s drone exports surged past US$100 million in the first quarter, exceeding last year’s full-year total, with the Czech Republic emerging as the largest buyer, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said. Exports of complete drones reached US$115.85 million in the period, about 1.2 times the total recorded for all of last year, the ministry said in a report. Exports to the Czech Republic accounted for about US$100 million, far outpacing other markets. Poland, last year’s top destination, recorded about US$11.75 million in the first quarter. Taiwan’s drone exports have expanded rapidly in the past few years, with last year’s total
RSS