Hegseth meets with Pacific allies at Asia defence forum

He did so after opening the session with an address full of praise for the US' Asian allies for their military reinforcement and messages to Europe and NATO to "take note."

"For those who believe they can continue to free ride on the generosity of the American taxpayer, hear us now: those days are over," Hegseth said.

The US, Japan, Australia, the Philippines, and New Zealand share concerns over hotspots in the Indo-Pacific, including Taiwan and the South China Sea, given Beijing's expansionist ambitions in the region, as well as the Korean Peninsula.

"A Pacific dominated by any hegemon would unravel the regional balance of power," Hegseth warned.

"No state, including China, can impose its hegemony and hold the security or prosperity of our nation and our allies in question."

After meeting with his Japanese and Australian defence counterparts, Shinjiro Koizumi and Richard Marles, respectively, Hegseth said the three countries were united in their commitment to "peace through strength."

In the same vein, he praised his meeting with the Philippine Secretary of Defense, Gilberto Teodoro, following which he emphasised: "We continue to put peace through strength into action."

After meeting with his New Zealand counterpart, Chris Penk, the Pentagon chief said he was looking forward to seeing how the Pacific nation "makes progress on contributing to our collective defence."

The Shangri-La Dialogue has become a barometer of the state of defence relations between the US and China, although the absence of Chinese minister Dong Jun has prevented for the second consecutive year a bilateral meeting between the two countries.

Hegseth said on Saturday relations between Washington and Beijing were better than they had been for many years.

He also emphasised the importance of keeping lines of military communication open to reduce the risk of miscalculation.