Shangri-La Dialogue 2026: Rightful alarm regarding China's historic military build-up: Hegseth

There is rightful alarm regarding China's historic military build-up and the expansion of its military activities in the region and beyond, said US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Saturday (May 30). But under President Trump's leadership, relations between the United States and China are better than they've been in many years, said Hegseth. “We are meeting more frequently with our Chinese counterparts by maintaining open lines of military to military communication, we can coordinate the conflict and reduce the risk of miscalculation. This dialogue is not a sign of capitulation … but a practical guardrail,” he said. Subscribe to our channel here: https://cna.asia/youtubesub Visit our website: https://cna.asia Download our app: https://cna.asia/app Get our editors' picks of stories via chat apps: Telegram: https://cna.asia/telegram WhatsApp: https://cna.asia/whatsapp Follow us on these platforms: https://www.facebook.com/channelnewsasia https://www.instagram.com/channelnewsasia https://www.tiktok.com/@channelnewsasia