China accuses Hegseth of ‘Cold War mentality,’ says U.S. turning Pacific into ‘powder keg’

China on Sunday accused Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth of pushing a “Cold War mentality” and stoking “bloc confrontation” as tensions between the two global powers rose rapidly on multiple fronts.

Beijing made the comments on the heels of Mr. Hegseth’s speech Saturday at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. The defense secretary warned that the threat of a Chinese military strike on Taiwan could be “imminent.”

Mr. Hegseth also warned of “devastating consequences for the Indo-Pacific and the world” in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. It represented the most unambiguous indication to date that the Trump administration would come to Taiwan’s defense if China invades the island.

Mr. Hegseth said the administration is moving to prevent an attack on Taiwan by strengthening military deterrence in what he called “peace through strength,” a callback to the Reagan era. The Pentagon chief said it would be carried out in overt and covert ways, “but if deterrence fails, we will be prepared to do what the Department of Defense does best: fight and win, decisively.”

China quickly fired back.

“Hegseth deliberately ignored the call for peace and development by countries in the region, and instead touted the Cold War mentality for bloc confrontation,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “No country in the world deserves to be called a hegemonic power other than the U.S. itself.”

The statement said the U.S. is turning the Pacific into a “powder keg” by deploying military assets to the region. Beijing warned the Trump administration to “never play with fire” over Taiwan.

The relationship between the U.S. and China is increasingly antagonistic. Last week, the State Department announced it would start aggressively revoking visas of Chinese students at American universities. The two nations have also been at odds over potential tariffs on goods from the other side.

Beijing seems to have sent a direct message to the Trump administration by not sending its defense minister to the Singapore conference.

It was the first time since 2019 that the Chinese defense minister had not attended the meeting. In fact, China did not even dispatch a senior general or admiral this year, indicating that its military is less inclined to engage with regional military and defense chiefs or with the U.S.

‘Devastating consequences’

Mr. Hegseth said during his Singapore address that Chinese President Xi Jinping had directed the People’s Liberation Army to be ready for an assault on Taiwan by 2027.

“To be clear: any attempt by Communist China to conquer Taiwan by force would result in devastating consequences for the Indo-Pacific and the world,” Mr. Hegseth told the annual conference of defense leaders called the Shangri La Dialogue. “There’s no reason to sugarcoat it. The threat China poses is real.”

China has stepped up aggressive military activities in the South China Sea near the Philippines, around Taiwan, and farther north near Japan and South Korea, all key U.S. allies.

Mr. Hegseth warned that a “massive military buildup and growing willingness to use military force” are signs that Beijing is working on becoming a major hegemonic power in Asia and wants to dominate the entire region.

China claims an estimated 90% of the strategic South China Sea despite an international tribunal ruling that the claim is illegitimate.

An estimated $5 trillion in international trade passes through the waterway annually. China has encroached on the sea by reclaiming disputed islands and deploying anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles on some of them over the past decade.

Today, Chinese military forces are illegally seizing and militarizing disputed islands in the South China Sea, Mr. Hegseth said.

“These actions reveal a lack of respect for neighbors and they challenge sovereignty, freedom of navigation and overflight,” he said.

Mr. Hegseth said U.S. military forces are closely watching destabilizing Chinese actions. He warned that “any unilateral attempt in the South China Sea to change the status quo by force or coercion is unacceptable.”

Mr. Hegseth called Chinese aggression in the region an urgent wake-up call. He noted vast and sophisticated cyberattacks that stole industrial technology and intruded on critical infrastructure networks, including in the U.S.

“These actions not only compromise our countries, but endanger the lives of our citizens,” he said.

The Chinese military is engaged in military harassment of Taiwan, a democratic island that Beijing regards as a breakaway province.

“These activities have been paired with China’s rapid military modernization and buildup, including massive investments in nuclear weapons, hypersonic missiles, and amphibious assault capabilities,” Mr. Hegseth said.

Mr. Hegseth warned Asian leaders at the conference that they should not seek economic cooperation with China in addition to defense partnerships with the United States.

Economic dependence on China would deepen Beijing’s malignant influence in the region and complicate American decisions during tension or conflict.

The Chinese Communist Party is using its economic power to increase its control over the region, he said.

“Nobody knows what China will ultimately do,” Mr. Hegseth said. “But they are preparing. And we must, therefore, be ready as well. Urgency and vigilance is our only option.”