China accuses U.S.'s Hegseth of 'vilifying' remarks at security forum

China criticizes US Defense Secretary Hegseth for labeling it a threat in the Indo-Pacific, escalating tensions in the region.

China has protested to the United States over "vilifying" remarks made by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, the Foreign Ministry said on Sunday (June 1, 2025), while accusing it of deliberately ignoring calls for peace from regional nations.

China has objected to Mr. Hegseth calling it a threat in the Indo-Pacific, the Ministry added, describing his comments at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Saturday (May 31, 2025) as "deplorable" and "intended to sow division".

"Hegseth deliberately ignored the call for peace and development by countries in the region, and instead touted the Cold War mentality for bloc confrontation, vilified China with defamatory allegations, and falsely called China a 'threat'," the ministry said on its website.

"The United States has deployed offensive weaponry in the South China Sea and kept stoking flames and creating tensions in the Asia-Pacific, which are turning the region into a powder keg," the ministry added in the statement.

Mr. Hegseth had called on allies in the Indo-Pacific region, including key security ally Australia, to spend more on defence after warning of the "real and potentially imminent" threat from China.

Asked about the call to boost defence spending, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government had pledged an extra A$10 billion to defence.

"What we'll do is we'll determine our defence policy," he told reporters on Sunday, a transcript of his remarks showed.