\n<\/p>\n
China\u2019s government has accused Pete Hegseth of trying to \u201csow division\u201d in the Asia Pacific region over his speech at a Singapore defence conference where he warned China was a potentially \u201cimminent\u201d threat.<\/p>\n
On Saturday Hegseth said<\/a> China was \u201ccredibly preparing to potentially use military force to alter the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific\u201d, and was rehearsing for \u201cthe real deal\u201d of invading Taiwan.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no reason to sugar coat it. The threat China poses is real, and it could be imminent,\u201d the US defence secretary said in a keynote address at the Shangri-la Dialogue defence forum, calling for Asian countries to increase defence spending.<\/p>\n On Sunday, China\u2019s ministry of foreign affairs condemned his words, which it said were \u201cfilled with provocations and intended to sow division\u201d.<\/p>\n Related: <\/span>Pete Hegseth calls on Asia to boost military spending in face of \u2018imminent\u2019 threat from China<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cHegseth deliberately ignored the call for peace and development by countries in the region, and instead touted the cold war mentality for bloc confrontation, vilified China with defamatory allegations, and falsely called China a \u2018threat\u2019,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe remarks were filled with provocations and intended to sow division. China deplores and firmly opposes them and has protested strongly to the US.\u201d<\/p>\n The statement also pushed back at Hegseth\u2019s claim that China was trying to become a \u201chegemonic power\u201d in the region.<\/p>\n \u201cNo country in the world deserves to be called a hegemonic power other than the US itself, who is also the primary factor undermining the peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n The ministry accused Hegseth of \u201cplaying with fire\u201d with what it calls \u201cthe Taiwan question\u201d. China\u2019s ruling Communist party (CCP) claims Taiwan is a province of China, illegally run by separatists, and has vowed to annex it. Taiwan\u2019s democratically elected government and the majority of its people reject the prospect of CCP rule.<\/p>\n Speaking to reporters on Sunday morning, Australia\u2019s defence minister, Richard Marles, rejected the premise of China\u2019s criticism of Hegseth.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we have seen from China is the single biggest increase in military capability and buildup in a conventional sense by any country since the end of the second world war,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThat is one of the key features of the complexity of the strategic landscape which all of us face within the region and which is faced around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n Marles said Australia had worked with regional partners including the US and the Philippines \u201cover a long period of time to uphold the global rules-based order\u201d, including freedom of navigation operations to assert the UN convention on the law of the sea.<\/p>\n The US is not a signatory to that convention.<\/p>\n The Shangri-la Dialogue is an annual conference that hosts dozens of leaders, defence ministers and military chiefs from around the world, for three days of panel discussions and speeches. But much of the significant interactions occur on the sidelines, with private meetings between representatives. Past years have often seen the US and China trade barbs<\/a>, but also occasionally hold significant meetings, including last year<\/a> with China\u2019s defence minister, Dong Jun, and Hegseth\u2019s predecessor, Lloyd Austin.<\/p>\n This year, however, China sent only a small delegation led by a vice-president of the People\u2019s Liberation Army\u2019s national defence university, Rear Adm Hu Gangfeng.<\/p>\n On Saturday afternoon Hu told a panel, which included the head of the British armed forces, that speakers had attempted to \u201cprovoke, split and instigate confrontations in the region\u201d with criticisms of China.<\/p>\n