China draws flak at Shangri-La dialogue security summit

HONG KONG: China, which did not send its top-drawer delegation to this year’s edition of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, copped considerable criticism for its continued flouting of international rules and for the threat it poses to neighbors.

At this Singapore-based annual conference featuring military and diplomatic leaders from Asia and across the world, China usually sends a team headed by a defence minister. However, this year, Beijing’s delegation was headed by the relatively lowly Rear Admiral Hu Gangfeng, Vice-President of China’s National Defense University, for the summit held from May 30 till June 1.

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth gave a speech that was extremely blunt in its assessment of the current threat from China, more so than speeches from any other international defense minister in recent memory. Hegseth asserted at the event, which is organized by the UK-based International Institute for Strategic Studies: ‘The United States is an Indo-Pacific nation … We will continue to be an Indo-Pacific nation, with Indo-Pacific interests, for generations to come”.

Au Shangri-La Dialogue, Pete Hegseth a réaffirmé la détermination des Etats-Unis, avec ses alliés, à dissuader la Chine d’attaquer Taïwan.
Extrait à écouter de son excellent discours. pic.twitter.com/7jWVZY5YUo

— Jean Louis (@JL7508) May 31, 2025

There are some who need reassurance, after the uncertainty caused by President Donald Trump’s chaotic and mercantile approach to international politics and tariffs. Hegseth offered comfort, saying, “Under President Trump’s leadership, the US is committed to achieving peace through strength. That starts with deterring aggression around the world and here in the Indo-Pacific, here in our priority theater, here with you, our allies and our partners”.

However, at the same time, Hegseth’s speech was littered with the deferential oiliness common to Trump political appointees, stating the world is “incredibly fortunate to have an American president” like Trump. Not all would agree, including many in Asia. Hegseth reassured that the Indo-Pacific is a priority, as the USA pursues a deliberate policy of forcing Europe to take up more of the mantle for defending against Russia.

“As our allies share the burden, we can increase our focus on the Indo-Pacific, our priority theater. You see, here in the Indo-Pacific, our futures are bound together … As a matter of fact, we are here this morning, and somebody else is not”. This was the American defense secretary taking a potshot at China, whose defense minister was a no-show.

“We are here this morning. Somebody else isn’t.”

Without naming China, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called out Beijing for not sending a high-level delegation to the Shangri-La Dialogue defense summit for the first time in years. Live updates: https://t.co/loUM5gM6eD pic.twitter.com/dOxb1dvOaU

— Bloomberg TV (@BloombergTV) May 31, 2025

Building up a head of steam, Hegseth got down to the serious business of fingering China as the real culprit, “a gathering threat”. He rolled on: “Let me begin by saying we do not seek conflict with communist China. We will not instigate, nor seek to subjugate or humiliate. President Trump and the American people have an immense respect for the Chinese people and their civilization, but we will not be pushed out of this critical region. We will not let our allies and partners be subordinated and intimidated.”

He accused China of hegemony, turning the tables on Beijing’s familiar canard that the USA is a hegemon. “Through its massive military buildup and growing willingness to use military force to achieve its goals, including gray-zone tactics and hybrid warfare, China has demonstrated that it wants to fundamentally alter the region’s status quo. We cannot look away and we cannot ignore it. China’s behaviour toward its neighbors and the world is a wake-up call, and an urgent one. China uses its vast and sophisticated cyber capabilities to steal technology and attack critical infrastructure in your countries and in the US as well.”

He listed examples of how China is pushing its weight around. “In the South China Sea, China harasses its neighbors, many of which are here in the room today. China seeks to intimidate you in your own waters. We have all seen the videos and pictures of water cannons and ship-to-ship collisions and illegal boardings at sea”.

He spoke too of illegal seizures and militarization of islands in the South China Sea. “These actions reveal a lack of respect for neighbors,” Hegseth bemoaned. No country faces a bigger threat from China than Taiwan, so what Hegseth said next would have reassured this democratic nation constantly coerced by its larger neighbor.

“Every day, you see it, China’s military harasses Taiwan”, Hegseth said. “These activities have been paired with China’s rapid military modernization and build-up, including huge investments in nuclear weapons, hypersonics and amphibious-assault capabilities. It has to be clear to all that Beijing is credibly preparing to potentially use military force to alter the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific. We know – it is public – that Xi has ordered his military to be capable of invading Taiwan by 2027. The People’s Liberation Army is building the military needed to do it, training for it every day, and rehearsing for the real deal”.

He stated, “Again, to be clear, any attempt by communist China to conquer Taiwan by force would result in devastating consequences for the Indo-Pacific and the world. There is no reason to sugarcoat it. The threat China poses is real, and it could be imminent. We hope not, but it certainly could be”.

Such an assessment represents a major departure for the US government, because officials have previously argued that a conflict with China is neither imminent nor inevitable.

Of course, the US secretary’s answer was framed in such a way as to remain strategically ambiguous. He did not say Trump and the US military would come to Taiwan’s aid, but he left that possibility open. Hegseth added, “President Trump has also said that communist China will not invade Taiwan on his watch. Our goal is to prevent war, to make the cost too high and peace the only option.”

Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles echoed Hegseth’s concerns, saying at the Shangri-La Dialogue: “It is not just the size of the military build-up, it is the fact that it is happening without strategic reassurance and without a clear strategic intent. We want to see strategic transparency and strategic reassurance be provided by China, and an understanding of why it is needed to have such an extraordinary military build-up.”

Unsurprisingly, the aforementioned Rear Admiral Hu Gangfeng from China hit back at a later session of the Singaporean summit, accusing the USA of “groundless accusations” and hyping the China threat. He said Hegseth’s comments were “nothing more than attempts to provoke trouble, incite division and stir up confrontation to destabilize the Asia-Pacific region”.

At the same time, China refuses to acknowledge its behavior is a source of great alarm in the region. It refuses to accept it is intimidatory, that others have credible reasons to fear Beijing and its use of force. Hu continued in his critique of Hegseth’s speech, complaining, “Some of the claims are completely fabricated, some distort facts and some are cases of a thief crying ‘stop, thief’.”

Again, Hegseth was at pains to point out, “We do not seek to dominate or strangle China, to encircle or provoke. We do not seek regime change, nor will we instigate, or disrespect a proud and historic culture. We will be ready, but we will not be reckless.”

He addressed other nations represented in the conference room too, promising, “We will stand with you and work alongside you to deter Chinese aggression. Each day, together, creating more and more dilemmas and complications, should China want to act, should they decide to overturn the status quo. More dilemmas, more complications, more questions, more concerns, more variables, more reasons to say it is not worth it.”

However, in a typical Trumpian ploy, the American demanded that would-be Asian partners raise their game and make solid commitments to stand up to China and work hand in hand with the USA.

Unfortunately, this is the type of pledge many in Asia are reluctant to give. They do not want to choose between China or the USA. Their country might be situated near China, their economy might be dependent on Chinese trade, and so they prefer to sit on the fence. They will not be swayed by American demands for commitment, especially given the irascible and bullying behavior of Trump. Some may even be wondering whether the USA of today is really any better than China.

In his speech in Singapore, French President Emmanuel Macron warned against this binary either/or approach being advocated by the USA. “The main risk today is a risk of division of the world, and the division between the two superpowers and the instruction given to all the others: ‘You have to choose your side’.”

Macron added, cautioning against choosing sides: “If we do so, we will kill the global order and we will destroy methodically all the institutions we created after the Second World War in order to preserve peace and to have cooperation on health, on climate, on human rights and so on”.

Instead, Macron called for Europe and Asia to build a coalition of independent countries to maintain strategic autonomy. France possesses territories in the South Pacific, and it has some 8,000 military personnel located there.

In a later plenary session at the Shangri-La Dialogue, Hegseth appeared alongside counterparts from Australia, Japan and the Philippines. He started by saying, “We’ve got a lot of friends and allies and partners here, but none closer than this group, none more strategically positioned to manifest deterrence, to bring about peace – that is our shared goal.”

Illustrating China’s paradoxical approach to “peace”, especially with those who oppose it, China has a love-hate relationship with international law and regulations. It is extremely happy to abide by international rules when it brings advantage, but Beijing immediately disparages it whenever it runs counter to its own aims and narratives. A case in point is China’s categorical rejection of the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s conclusions about its illegal territorial claims in the South China Sea.

China accuses existing international mechanisms of having double standards, low efficiency and being adversarial. Three years ago, stung by episodes like Permanent Court of Arbitration decisions, China sought to establish an international mediation organization for the “peaceful resolution of disputes”. This came to fruition on 30 May when China and 32 other nations signed the Convention on Establishment of the International Organization for Mediation.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi noted at the signing ceremony in Hong Kong, “China has been actively exploring ways of hotspot-issue settlement that carry the Chinese touch, so as to lend our thoughts to countries seeking to resolve problems or disagreements with others.”

Despite branding itself as an expert mediator, Wang’s comments about “the China touch” are laughable. China is currently engaged in numerous territorial disputes, and it has shown an uncompromising desire to trample over others’ legitimate rights. Even as Wang was speaking, Chinese law enforcement ships were harassing Philippine vessels in the South China Sea, and others were planting buoys in the Yellow Sea to assert sovereignty in competition with South Korea.

Meanwhile, back in Singapore, with no Defense Minister Dong Jun in attendance, China was unable to directly rebut Hegseth’s comments. This speech by Hegseth had been eagerly awaited, because Trump’s approach towards Asia, and his relationship with China, have not been clearly articulated. Hegseth has made Trump’s stance clarion clear, and it is more confrontational than that of any recent presidential predecessor. (ANI)