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How Hegseth might shift his tone on Taiwan at this year’s Shangri-La Dialogue
While the US defence chief gave a gung-ho speech at last year’s conference, reset in Beijing ties after recent summit may prompt moderation
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Beijing’s delegates to the Shangri-La Dialogue anticipate Washington will strike a less confrontational tone on Taiwan than it did last year, even as the issue remains the largest point of contention in Sino-US relations.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth is scheduled to speak at the annual security conference in Singapore on Saturday morning.
His remarks will be closely watched by Beijing and by Washington’s regional allies for signs of any policy shift following the high-stakes summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump earlier this month.
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Last year, Hegseth issued a stern warning, saying that “any attempt by Communist China to conquer Taiwan by force would result in devastating consequences for the Indo-Pacific and the world. There’s no reason to sugarcoat it. The threat China poses is real.”
Zhou Bo, a retired People’s Liberation Army senior colonel, said that “the Taiwan issue probably will not feature more prominently than it did last year. They cannot raise the rhetoric to that level again.”
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