Hegseth Warns Asian Allies To Bulk Up For ‘Imminent’ China Threat

PAUL’S DEFENSE BRIEF (PDB) – Defense Secretary Hegseth urged allies to raise defense spending and warned that China may pose an “imminent” military threat in a landmark speech on the Trump administration’s approach to Asia.

Hegseth also used a key address here in Singapore to assert that while the U.S. doesn’t seek war with China, it also will not be pushed out of the “critical” Indo-Pacific theatre. Nor will it allow its partners and allies in the region to be “subordinated and intimidated.”

China denounced Hegseth for calling the Asian country a threat, accusing him of touting a Cold War mentality as tensions between Washington and Beijing further escalate.

U.S. is also urging Australia to surge defense spending to 3.5% of GDP, almost a third above the target Canberra has set even for the early 2030s.

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – Here’s a roundup of today’s other top defense stories ending the week from conservative national security expert PAUL CRESPO.

Not the President’s Daily Brief, but almost as good – PAUL’S DEFENSE BRIEFING – the PDB:    

NATIONAL SECURITY

The cyber war is real – let’s act like it. China, Russia, North Korea, Iran and others are actively targeting the U.S. through cyber operations, posing significant risks to our national security and critical infrastructure.

Allies are more than customers of U.S. defense industrial base. They can help rebuild it. Trump administration officials speak often of the responsibility of allies and partners to do more for the common defense.

HOMELAND SECURITY

Canadian Wildfire Smoke Prompts Air Quality Concerns in U.S.

UK businessman has been indicted in the U.S. with attempting to traffic sensitive U.S. military technology to China and silence a critic of China’s leader. (RELATED: Major Security Breach Leads To Federal Arrest)

POLITICS

DOD is proposing to terminate 14 different defense advisory groups following a 45-day review, with the cut list including the 74-year-old Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services.

State Department announced an updated reorganization, proposing cuts to programs beyond what had previously been revealed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and a steeper 18% reduction of staff in the U.S.

Elon Musk on DOGE and why he doesn’t want to ‘take responsibility for everything the administration’s doing.’

PETA penned a letter to Hegseth and Navy Secretary Phelan thanking the Trump administration halting Navy-funded dog and cat experiments announced this week and requesting a broader ban on all animal testing in all military branches.

US POWER OVERSEAS

Trump offers F-47 sixth-gen fighter to Japan. The idea of an export-configured F-47 was brought up by Trump when he announced Boeing’s win in the Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) manned combat jet initiative. (RELATED: Trump Responds To Media Powerhouse’s Rare Offer)

Trump administration’s proposed budget for 2026 would modestly increase Air Force spending but cut Space Force funds.

Navy Secretary John Phelan visited Guam earlier this month and was “appalled” after seeing the conditions of an Air Force barracks where junior service members were living, ordering a Navy-wide inspection of more than 100,000 barracks.

Philippines’ defense secretary cast doubt on a $5.6 billion purchase of American F-16 fighter jets approved in April, saying Manila hasn’t yet decided whether to move forward with the sale.

CHINA THREAT

Navy will start fielding an anti-ship version of its Tomahawk cruise missile on destroyers by late September in what the service’s readiness boss sees as a “game-changer” against a numerically superior Chinese fleet.

China’s J-36 very heavy 6th generation stealth tactical jet photographed head-on for first time and confirms that the aircraft features a very large and broad bubble canopy to go atop its equally broad nose section.

RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR

Dozens of Russian strategic bombers destroyed in unprecedented wide-scale Ukrainian drone attack.

Volodymyr Zelensky touted the “absolutely brilliant result” of a large-scale drone attack on Russian strategic bombers. (RELATED: New Intel Emerges After Devastating Blow To Foreign Adversary)

Russia has also been launching attacks ahead of the second round of direct talks between Kyiv and Moscow in Turkey.

Ukraine says its air defense unit shot down a Russian Dan-M, a target drone converted into a cruise missile, headed to the Black Sea port city of Odesa. Another source, however, suggested it could have been an Iranian-designed jet drone.

Vladimir Putin is stalling at the peace table while preparing a new military offensive in Ukraine, two senior U.S. senators warned after meeting Zelensky and Macron, arguing that the next two weeks could shape the future of the devastating war.

Giving in to Russia’s demands to annex a significant portion of Ukraine without consequences would deal a blow to U.S. and European credibility that could be felt as far away as the Indo-Pacific, especially Taiwan, warned French President Macron.

Russia is reportedly using a new Chinese laser system to shoot down Ukrainian drones. The appears to be at least extremely similar to a system Beijing has apparently already provided to Iran.

UK signals progress on drone sub-hunting fleet for North Atlantic. “Project CABOT – ATLANTIC NET” is the next step toward fielding a fleet of autonomous sub-hunting vessels.

A monument to Josef Stalin has been unveiled at one of Moscow’s busiest subway stations, the latest attempt by Russian authorities to revive the legacy of the brutal Soviet dictator.

IRAN THREAT/MIDEAST

U.S. military has carried out more than two dozen airstrikes on targets in Somalia in the first five months of this year, double the total number of strikes in 2024.

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for two attacks in southern Syria, including one on government forces described as the first on the Syrian army to be carried out by the terrorists since the fall of Bashar Assad.

Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle seen down-range in the Middle East with an air-to-air loadout that includes six seven-shot 70mm rocket pods of drone-killing laser-guided rockets, well as four AIM-9X and four AIM-120 missiles.

Israel said it had intercepted about 40 unmanned aerial vehicles by high-power laser systems in the wider Gaza war, a first in a combat engagement.

Hamas is seeking amendments to the latest U.S. ceasefire proposal for Gaza, but U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff called the response “totally unacceptable.”

Secret Syrian intelligence files show for first time that missing U.S. journalist Austin Tice was imprisoned by Assad regime.

SPACE THREAT

Russia’s newest satellite in its low Earth orbit (LEO) Cosmos series is in orbit near an unnamed U.S. government satellite, stoking suspicions that all the Cosmos satellites are co-orbital anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons rather than simply neighborhood watch birds as Moscow claims.

Rapid response. Space Force successfully launched a GPS satellite to demonstrate for the second time its ability to quickly put a GPS space vehicle into orbit in a fraction of the usual time. (RELATED: States Push Back: Service Branch Can’t Unilaterally Take Strategic Units)

United Launch Alliance (UAL’s) years-long delays with its new Vulcan rocket have flipped the script for national security missions, making SpaceX the new reliable provider.

INTERNATIONAL SECURITY

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has warned the UK must be prepared to defeat hostile states with modern military capabilities, as his government unveils a $2 billion plan to build at least six new weapons and explosives factories.

Royal Navy could see its destroyer and frigate fleet grow 78% from 14 to 25 vessels, marking the most significant expansion of Britain’s surface escort force in a generation.

U.S. AFRICOM boss says West African militants are seeking coastal access, raising global risk. Attacks are surging in western Africa, where the U.S. is struggling to track terrorist movements in the wake of a pullout of forces from the region.

India’s Chief of Defense Staff has for the first time confirmed Pakistan shot down Indian Air Force fighter jets during clashes in early May.

US MILITARY

Army’s recently completed Arcane Thunder 25 exercise incorporated uncrewed surface vessels, unmanned aerial systems, high-altitude balloons and data-sharing capabilities to test out deep sensing and multi-domain operations. (RELATED: Bold Move: Trump Orders New Overseas Troop Deployment)

END of PDB

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.

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