U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Saturday assured allies of the Indo-Pacific that they would not face China's military and economic pressure alone, while insisting that they also contributed more to their defense.

He said Washington will strengthen its defense capabilities overseas to respond to the Pentagon’s view that Beijing is developing rapidly, especially its positive stance on Taiwan. China has conducted many exercises to test the appearance of the blocked autonomous island, with Beijing claiming to be its own and the United States has promised to defend.

In a keynote speech at a security conference in Singapore, Heggs said that the Chinese military “is rehearsing for the real deal.” “We are not going to icing – the threat posed by China is real. It may be imminent.”

The head of the Chinese delegation accused Hegseth of making "unfounded charges."

"Some of these statements are completely fabricated, some are distorted facts, and some are cases of thieves crying," said Sir Hou, vice president of the National Defense University of China. He did not raise a specific objection.

"These actions are nothing more than trying to get into trouble, incite separatism and inspire confrontation to destabilize the Asia-Pacific region," he said.

Heggs says China is training to invade Taiwan

China has a stated goal of ensuring that its military can ride in Taiwan by force when necessary in 2027, a deadline seen by experts as a larger goal rather than a hard war deadline.

China has also built exquisite man-made islands in the South China Sea to support new military outposts and developed advanced advanced supersonic and space capabilities that are driving the United States to create its own space-based space "Golden Dome" missile defense. President Trump said his administration “formally chose buildings for this state-of-the-art system” and the budget package currently under consideration of Congress will provide $25 billion in funding for the project.

Hegseth said in a Shangri-La dialogue at the Global Security Conference chaired by the International Security Institute that China is no longer just building military forces to participate in Taiwan’s military power, it is actively training Taiwan every day.”

Heggs also called on China's ambitions in Latin America, especially efforts to increase its influence on the Panama Canal.

He urged Indo-Pacific countries to increase defense spending to a level similar to 5% of their GDP, while European countries are now forced to contribute.

"We all have to do our best," Heggs said.

After the speech, the EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas, commented to Hegss that European countries should focus their defense efforts in their own regions and leave the Indo-Pacific to the United States, she said that the North Korean troops fighting North Korea, Russia and China, supporting Moscow, European and Asian security, were "very intertwined".

Questions about the United States' commitment to the Indo-Pacific

He also repeated the previous government's assurances to strengthen U.S. troops in the Indo-Pacific region to provide a stronger deterrent. Although both the Obama and Biden administrations are committed to establishing new military agreements throughout the region, there has never been a comprehensive transformation.

Instead, U.S. military resources from the Indo-Pacific region are often evacuated to support military needs in the Middle East and Europe, especially since the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. This was also true in the first few months of President Donald Trump’s second term.

Over the past few months, the Trump administration has brought a Patriot missile defense battalion from the Indo-Pacific region to deliver it to the Middle East, a massive logistical operation that requires 73 military cargo planes to fly and send the Coast Guard back to the United States to help defend the U.S.-Mexico border.

Heggs was asked why the United States would withdraw these resources if the Indo-Pacific was the priority theater. He didn't answer directly

At the same time, he stressed the need for U.S. allies and partners to strengthen their defense spending and preparations, saying the United States is not interested in being alone.

“Ultimately, a strong, firm and capable network of allies and partners is our key strategic advantage,” he said. “China envys everything we have together and it sees the defensive capabilities we can collectively, but it depends on us all to ensure we achieve this potential through investment.”

For years, the Indo-Pacific nations in between have tried to balance relations with the United States and China. Beijing is a major trading partner for many but is also concerned about a regional bully, partly due to its increasingly positive claims on natural resources such as key fisheries.

Hegseth warned that both sides play the role of both sides, seeking US military support and China's economic support, are risky.

"The economic dependence on China will only deepen their vicious influence and complicate our defense decision-making space in times of tension," Heggs said.

When asked how he reconciled that claim with Trump’s threats over most of the huge tariff threats in the region, he “engaged in tank business, not trade.”

But Sen. Tammy Duckworth, Democrat of Illinois, was part of the congressional delegation to join Shangri-La, who opposed putting pressure on regional allies.

Duckworth refers to the People's Republic of China.

Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles welcomed Hegseth's assurance that the Indo-Pacific is a strategic priority for the United States and agreed that Australia and other countries need to do their best.

"The reality is that there is no effective balance of power in the United States, but we can't leave it to the United States alone," he said.

Still, Mars suggested that the Trump administration’s active trade policy backfires. “The shock and destruction of high tariffs is expensive and stable.”

China sends lower-level delegations

China usually sends its own defense secretary to the meeting, but Deng Zhan has not participated in Trump's unstable tariff war this year. His absence was something the U.S. delegation expressed its intention to take advantage of.

"We're here this morning. Others aren't," Heggs said.

Hegseth was asked by members of the Chinese delegation how the US promise would remain if Asian alliances such as ASEAN were different from Washington.

"We are opening our weapons to countries in the entire field (traditional allies, non-traditional allies)" he said.

He said that U.S. support does not require local governments to align with the West on cultural or climate issues.