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The Shangri-La Dialogue took place in Singapore, where US Secretary of Defense Hegseth delivered a speech on the 30th titled "America's New Ambitions for Indo-Pacific Security."
According to Lianhe Zaobao, Hegseth laid out the Indo-Pacific security strategy of the United States after President Trump took office for the first time. Chinese scholar Da Wei commented that Hegseth's speech was more confrontational than that of the previous Biden administration, frequently naming and criticizing China, and strongly provoking other countries present by reminding them of the threat from Beijing.
Da Wei, Director of the Center for Strategic and Security Studies and Professor of International Relations at Tsinghua University, gave his assessment of Hegseth's speech during an interview on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue.
Da Wei said the most novel point of Hegseth's speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue was that it provided a relatively complete explanation of the Trump administration's plans or strategy in the Indo-Pacific region, aiming to signal ambition to the Indo-Pacific region, which is its greatest value.
However, Da Wei noted that the latest remarks from the US military high command are "not particularly credible," and compared to the previous US government, they are "more confrontational. For example, he (Hegseth) extensively discussed China, naming it repeatedly, and he made many provocations. At one point, he said, 'All of you present are threatened by China, right?' or 'shamed by China,' etc. I find these statements highly provocative."
Da Wei pointed out that while the Biden administration also criticized China, it did so less explicitly and was slightly more restrained. "Additionally, I think there is a significant difference from the previous government, as the audience will have many questions. He (Hegseth) has many unanswered questions...There are contradictions between what America says and what it does, and he is unable to bridge this gap, which is the biggest challenge he faces today."