Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a stark warning over the weekend, labeling China’s potential military move against Taiwan as an “imminent” threat and encouraging Indo-Pacific nations to bolster their defenses in close coordination with the United States.

Delivering his remarks at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Hegseth claimed that Beijing is accelerating military preparations aimed at altering Asia’s power dynamics through force, especially toward Taiwan, which China claims but does not govern, reports BBC.

Hegseth warned that Chinese President Xi Jinping has allegedly set 2027 as the year by which China’s military should be capable of taking Taiwan. Although this timeline is cited by U.S. officials, Beijing has not confirmed it, BBC adds.

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He said China is “training for it, every day” and added, ” The threat China poses is real. And it could be imminent. We hope not but certainly could be,” BBC quoted Hegseth.

China responded sharply, calling the U.S. the region’s “biggest troublemaker.”

In a Facebook post, its embassy in Singapore accused Hegseth of stoking confrontation and distorting China’s intentions, citing America’s military activity in the South China Sea as destabilizing, the report adds.

Hegseth pressed Asian partners to significantly increase military investment, referencing Europe’s rising defense budgets in response to Russian aggression. “Europe is stepping up,” he said.

He criticized allies for relying too heavily on U.S. protection and urged them to become “partners, not dependents.”

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), also in attendance, criticized Hegseth’s speech as patronizing and said it strayed from core American values like human rights and international law.

She said, “We need to stand with our allies, work together, and send the message that America is not asking people to choose between the PRC (People’s Republic of China) and us,” BBC quoted Duckworth.

While China scaled back its involvement in the summit--sending a low-level delegation and canceling a key speech--U.S. officials said many Asian governments welcomed the firm stance on Beijing.

Still, analysts cautioned that while America’s message may resonate, regional compliance remains uncertain.

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Image: Shutterstock/Joshua Sukoff