THE most recently held Asia’s premier defence forum, the Shangri-La Dialogue 2025, was dominated by the hard-hitting speech of US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, China’s rational response, and Pakistan’s resolve for greater regional peace, stability and security.
Interestingly, the dialogue also echoed Pakistan’s retaliatory operation, codenamed Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos.
During his maiden speech, Pete Hegseth intentionally projected China as an “imminent threat” to the Asia-Pacific region, justifying an increase in military budgets from 1.5 to 5 percent, thereby preparing for an aggressive American defence-industrial push.
By portraying China, North Korea, and Iran as the axis of global instability, Hegseth sought to revive the US Military Complex Theory.
China warned him not to “play with fire” or make baseless accusations.
The Chinese embassy in Singapore condemned the speech, accusing Washington of escalating regional tensions and profiting from war risks.
Hegseth’s claims were factually incorrect, misrepresenting the US’s “declining” role and its desire to reclaim influence.
His speech was filled with provocation, repeatedly attacking China and exaggerating the so-called “China threat.”
Consequently, China rightly labelled the US Administration as the region’s “biggest troublemaker.”
As Hegseth spoke in Singapore, China’s navy and air force conducted routine “combat readiness patrols” around the Scarborough Shoal, a disputed area with the Philippines.
Hegseth’s call to economically decouple from China reveals Washington’s fear that economic interdependence deters military aggression.
He also portrayed India as a rising counterweight to China, signalling a new Cold War strategy.
However, a recent phone call between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping helped ease tensions.
This contrast highlights the differing approaches of the two powers: while the US relies on military posturing and fear, China focuses on building trade bridges and promoting stability through economic cooperation.
While the US only sells fear, China offers developmental infrastructure.
While the US warns of threats, China promotes mutual trust creating mutual benefits.
The US narrative is always based on a decaying foundation of outdated military dominance, while China’s strategy is built on socio-economic diplomacy, technological innovation and an unwavering resolve to non-interference.
Remarkably, China has never hunted colonization in its entire national history; even the Great Wall was a defensive measure, not a springboard for conquest.
Today, China is building a new kind of “Great Wall”, a deterrence strategy based on economic connectivity, infrastructure development and partnerships that create win-win scenarios globally.
Hence, China is quietly creating interdependencies that promote peace, stability and shared prosperity.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry response to Hegseth’s speech was “measured”, “sensible” and articulated urging the US to fully respect the efforts of countries in the region to maintain peace and stability and stop deliberately destroying the peaceful and stable environment cherished by the region.”
Thus Chinese wisdom guarantees regional peace and stability.
It is evident that the US has sought to reconstruct its “network architect” centred on bilateral security arrangements, to assemble an integrated and interconnected network of mini-lateral alliances such as the Quad and AUKUS to counter so-called self-coined Chinese military and diplomatic dominance.
Hegseth’s address and meeting with ASEAN defense ministers focused on advancing this US conflict-laden agenda in the region.
On the contrary, the track record of the US centred alliances in destabilizing regions rather than delivering stability and establishing deterrence is remarkable.
From foreign invasions and interventions to arms sales and fabricated groupings, America has been fuelling conflicts and undermining regional peace.
Arms supplies to Taiwan, Philippine, Australia and regional countries is provoking a sense of instability and insecurity in the region.
It fears that America’s military alliances and actions of arming the regional countries could fuel an arms race in the Asia-Pacific with AUKUS risking nuclear proliferation, becoming a major source of insecurity and undermining peace and stability of one of the world’s most economically vibrant regions.
In summary, the US Department of Defense annual report 2024 also accused Chinese officials of running “information operations and disinformation campaign to mischaracterize AUKUS as a vehicle for nuclear proliferation and threat to regional stability” and attempted to defame the significance of the Global Security Initiative (GSI).
The foreign ministers of Malaysia and Indonesia, as well as a growing chorus of other countries in the Pacific, have openly sounded the alarm on the nuclear pact and the risk of arms race and nuclear proliferation.
As major international powers, China and the US should bear the responsibility to stabilize their economic relationship to deliver benefits to both peoples and support the wider global economy.
It is suggested that both should also strengthen global security and thwart shared threats such as terrorism, nuclear proliferation, transnational crimes, drug trafficking and climate change.
It seems that stopping bullying and coercion is the only way forward and both countries should jointly work for regional peace and prosperity.
The US administration should also stop dabbling false narratives about China, respect the Asian country’s territorial integrity and deepen strategic engagement with Beijing to prevent the region from tipping into an endless arms race.
While delivering a keynote speech in Shangri-La Dialogue General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) has called for the urgent resolution of the Kashmir dispute, warning that continued tensions with India threaten regional peace and security.
He stressed the need for active and effective dialogue frameworks bilateral, regional and global to prevent conflicts rather than respond to them after escalation.
—The writer is President, Pak-China Corridor of Knowledge, Executive Director, CSAIS, regional expert: China, CPEC & BRI. (mehmoodulhassankhan@yahoo.com)
