{"id":96575,"date":"2026-06-02T07:59:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T07:59:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/96575\/"},"modified":"2026-06-02T07:59:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T07:59:21","slug":"video-hegseth-at-shangri-la-dialogue-toning-down-us-rhetoric","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/96575\/","title":{"rendered":"[Video] Hegseth at Shangri-La Dialogue: Toning down US rhetoric"},"content":{"rendered":"

Add ThinkChina as a preferred source<\/a>\"USUS Secretary of War Pete Hegseth speaks during the 23rd Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore on 30 May 2026. (Jam Sta Rosa\/AFP)<\/p>\n

Following the Chinese and US presidents\u2019 meeting in Beijing earlier in May, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth noticeably toned down his criticism of China at this year\u2019s Shangri-La Dialogue. This suggests that while Washington still wields a \u201cbig stick\u201d, it is prepared to \u201cspeak softly\u201d in an effort to secure China\u2019s respect for America\u2019s longstanding position in the Pacific. Former Chinese ambassador to the US Cui Tiankai said \u201ctalking loud does not mean being right\u201d (\u6709\u7406\u4e0d\u5728\u58f0\u9ad8), and that China and the US must sit down for calm and quiet communication rather than engage in loud arguments.<\/p>\n

Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue on 30 May, Hegseth said<\/a> that US-China relations were better than they had been in many years. He added that US President Donald Trump and his administration sought a relationship with China based on stable peace, fair trade and mutual respect.<\/p>\n

Hegseth said that being \u201cstrong, quiet, clear\u201d was the key to stability. He noted that maintaining open channels of communication between the two militaries would allow the US and China to coordinate actions, resolve disputes and reduce the risk of miscalculation. Looking ahead, he said the US will be intentional about how and when it communicates. \u201cWe will lead first and foremost with actions. As I said, strong but quiet, big stick, speak softly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Commenting on Hegseth\u2019s remarks, Cui Tiankai, attending the Shangri-La Dialogue for the fifth time, told Lianhe Zaobao (LHZB) on the sidelines: \u201cI think he (Hegseth) is trying to implement President Trump\u2019s intentions. Whether China and the US disagree or agree, of course they need to sit down and communicate calmly and quietly and exchange views properly (and not) keep arguing loudly. There is a Chinese saying: talking loud does not mean being right.\u201d<\/p>\n

Major General Meng Xiangqing, a professor at the National Defence University of the People\u2019s Liberation Army, leading the Chinese delegation at this year\u2019s forum, also briefly responded to Hegseth\u2019s speech in the opening remarks of a panel discussion on Saturday afternoon.<\/p>\n

Meng said that the most important political consensus reached during the recent meeting between the Chinese and US leaders was their agreement to build \u201ca constructive relationship of strategic stability\u201d between the two countries. \u201cWe look forward to China and the US moving closer, implementing the consensus reached by the two heads of state, and promoting military-to-military relations along a healthy, stable and sustainable path.\u201d<\/p>\n

Associate Professor Francesco Mancini, vice dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP) at the National University of Singapore (NUS), said when interviewed that Hegseth\u2019s reference to the two leaders\u2019 agreement to establish a constructive relationship of strategic stability based on fairness and reciprocity represented a more conciliatory tone. Compared with Washington\u2019s previous tendency to describe the relationship primarily in terms of competition, \u201cit is a conciliatory tone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Veteran Singapore diplomat Bilahari Kausikan likewise assessed that Hegseth\u2019s more balanced tone this year was to be expected following the summit between the two leaders. He noted that although Hegseth did not mention sensitive terms such as Taiwan, the South China Sea or Communist China, he still stressed that the US would not accept any country expecting hegemony over this region. \u201cThat\u2019s good enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"USUS Secretary of War Pete Hegseth speaks as he sits next to Bastian Giegerich, Chief Executive of The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore, on 30 May 2026. (Edgar Su\/Reuters)\"\"<\/p>\n

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Mancini also observed that although the speech was less confrontational than last year\u2019s, Hegseth\u2019s language towards China remained tough. While not stated explicitly, his remarks that America\u2019s strategic focus in the Pacific was to implement deterrence by denial along the first island chain were clearly an indirect reference to Taiwan.<\/p>\n

In his speech at the same event last year, Hegseth mentioned Taiwan five times. This year, however, the word \u201cTaiwan\u201d did not appear at all.<\/p>\n

Cui Tiankai pointed out that China had repeatedly emphasised to the US at every level that the Taiwan issue was the most important issue in bilateral relations. \u201cSo it is right for him (Hegseth) to be more cautious on this issue. He should act with great prudence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hegseth addressed the Taiwan issue during a question-and-answer session at the Shangri-La Dialogue on Saturday morning. Responding to a question about US arms sales to Taiwan, he said that any such decision would rest with Trump, while stressing that Washington\u2019s position had not changed in any way.<\/p>\n

\"JapaneseJapanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi asks a question to US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore, on 30 May 2026. (Edgar Su\/Reuters)<\/p>\n

Just last week, the US announced that it would pause a US$14 billion arms sales package to Taiwan. Acting US Navy Secretary Hung Cao said at a congressional hearing that the move was intended to ensure sufficient ammunition supplies for potential US military operations against Iran.<\/p>\n

Hegseth\u2019s explanation for the suspension appeared to contradict Cao\u2019s account. Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue, Hegseth said that US military stockpiles remained more than adequate. \u201cHung Cao is fantastic, but I would not couple the two in any way at all,\u201d referring to military operations against Iran and arms sales to Taiwan.<\/p>\n

This article was first published in Lianhe Zaobao as \u201c\u4e60\u7279\u4f1a\u540e\u7f8e\u9632\u957f\u9999\u4f1a\u964d\u4f4e\u5bf9\u534e\u6279\u8bc4\u70c8\u5ea6 \u5d14\u5929\u51ef\uff1a\u4e2d\u7f8e\u987b\u51b7\u9759\u6c9f\u901a \u6709\u7406\u4e0d\u5728\u58f0\u9ad8\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Related: Can US-China economic ties regain stability despite rivalry?<\/a> | Sino-US relations after Xi-Trump summit: Towards a new stability?<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Add ThinkChina as a preferred sourceUS Secretary of War Pete Hegseth speaks during the 23rd Shangri-La Dialogue summit…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":96576,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[120],"tags":[16407,51521,51520,51523,3223,947,51522,2783,1332,18,51,9957,3998],"class_list":["post-96575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pete-hegseth","tag-china-us-relations","tag-china-singapore-cooperation","tag-china-us-competition","tag-cross-strait-relations","tag-defence","tag-diplomacy","tag-international-image","tag-international-relations","tag-military","tag-pete-hegseth","tag-politics","tag-taiwan","tag-video"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@people\/116679460017920738","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96575"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96575\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}