At a security forum in Singapore, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sought to convince US allies that staying quiet on Taiwan is the best way to project American strength. While time will tell if that’s the case, for the moment it’s a win for Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Hegseth over the weekend became the first Pentagon chief in more than a decade to avoid mentioning Taiwan during a speech that lasted about 30 minutes at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue. He declared “the era of performative outrage is over” while outlining a “strong, quiet and clear” policy toward the region, and hailing ties with Beijing as “better than they’ve been in many years.”
