US softens tone on Taiwan at Asia security summit

Defense ministers, military officials and security experts from around the world gathered at the Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD) in Singapore this week to address a deteriorating security environment in the Asia-Pacific, where multiple conflicts have escalated and military spending across the region has surged to $681 billion. The conference, hosted annually since 2002 by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), saw U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth call on American allies to invest more in their own security while taking a notably restrained tone on Taiwan compared to his previous remarks. The region's security challenges include a brief war between India and Pakistan in May 2025, ongoing conflicts between Thailand and Cambodia and between Pakistan and Afghanistan, and continuing civil war in Myanmar. Vietnamese President To Lam, who opened the conference, stressed that competition between states must be managed within legal frameworks to be limited, responsible and predictable. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), military spending in the Asia-Pacific rose by 8.1% in 2025, with Hegseth stating that the United States would soon spend $1.5 trillion on defense and explicitly praising South Korea, the Philippines, Australia, Singapore and India for their defense commitments. A notable shift in U.S.-China relations emerged following President Trump and President Xi's May meeting, where both agreed on a "constructive relationship and strategic stability" framework. Hegseth notably omitted any direct mention of Taiwan in his speech, and former Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai expressed satisfaction with the new approach, calling for a halt to arms deliveries to Taiwan. While China kept a low profile and declined to send its defense minister, new multilayered security partnerships are forming across Asia, with Japan working more closely with Australia, the Philippines, India and other nations to create networks of like-minded partners and increase the cost of China's regional ambitions.