Hegseth Heads to Singapore to Underscore US Commitment to Indo–Pacific

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth set off to Singapore on May 28 for a series of meetings that he said would “ensure that [the] region understands America will be strong.” “We seek no conflict with anybody, including the communist Chinese, but we will deter that,” he said at the Joint Base Andrews in Maryland before departure. “We will stand strong for our interests. And that’s a big part of what this trip is all about.” The defense secretary will attend the annual Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on May 31, where he will meet with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and other officials, as well as several defense ministers from Southeast Asian nations, according to a May 27 announcement by the Department of Defense....