Sun Jun 01 06:54:18 UTC 2025: **Here’s a summary of the text:**
The U.S. and China are engaged in a heated dispute following remarks made by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. Hegseth’s warnings about the threat posed by China in the Indo-Pacific have drawn strong condemnation from Beijing, who accuses him of Cold War-era thinking, creating tensions, and making defamatory allegations. China claims the U.S. is militarizing the South China Sea and interfering in the Taiwan issue. Hegseth called on allies like Australia to increase defense spending in response to the perceived Chinese threat. Australia has acknowledged the call, and affirmed commitment to its own defense policy.
**Here’s a news article based on the text:**
**China Protests U.S. Defense Secretary’s ‘Vilifying’ Remarks, Accuses U.S. of Stoking Tensions**
**Beijing, June 1, 2025 (The Hindu)** – China has lodged a formal protest with the United States over what it describes as “vilifying remarks” made by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. The Foreign Ministry on Sunday accused Hegseth of deliberately ignoring calls for peace from regional nations and fomenting division.
Hegseth, addressing the summit on Saturday, warned of a “real and potentially imminent threat from China” in the Indo-Pacific region, prompting him to call on allies, including Australia, to increase defense spending.
China’s Foreign Ministry responded sharply, stating that Hegseth’s comments were “deplorable and intended to sow division.” The ministry accused the U.S. Secretary of Defence of using a “Cold War mentality for bloc confrontation” and “vilifying China with defamatory allegations.”
In a statement released on its website, the ministry further accused the United States of “deploying offensive weaponry in the South China Sea and keeping stoking flames and creating tensions in the Asia-Pacific, which are turning the region into a powder keg.” The statement also warned the United States against “playing with fire on the Taiwan question.” Hegseth’s speech explicitly stated that any Chinese attempt to seize Taiwan would result in devastating consequences.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, when questioned about Hegseth’s call for increased defense spending, affirmed his government’s commitment to defense, noting a previously pledged A$10 billion increase. “What we’ll do is we’ll determine our defense policy,” Albanese stated.
The growing tension comes amidst ongoing disputes in the South China Sea, where China and the Philippines contest sovereignty over islands and atolls, and concerns over China’s stance on Taiwan.
First Piper 