US defence secretary Pete Hegseth praised defence allies in Asia and hailed newly stable ties with China, while taking swipes at longstanding security partners in Europe.
The comments, made Saturday at an Asia security forum in Singapore, are the latest sign of the Trump administration shifting attention toward the Indo-Pacific while expressing antagonism toward Europe and the NATO alliance. Hegseth singled out allies such as South Korea, Japan and the Philippines for "stepping up" on defence while lambasting European nations that "threw open their borders and hollowed out their militaries."
