Hegseth Raps Europe, Hails Ties With China and Asian Allies

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Hegseth also had kind words for his Chinese counterpart, Defense Minister Dong Jun, who skipped the event for the second year. Last year, the US defense chief quipped: “We are here this morning — somebody else isn’t.”

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“I wish my counterpart was here at this conference,” Hegseth said on Saturday. “But I look forward to other options when we can cross paths and communicate.” 

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At one point, a Chinese delegate asked Hegseth to respond to a recent podcast comment by US Forces Korea commander Xavier Brunson that South Korea is a “dagger in the heart of Asia,” a line Beijing slammed as hostile and aggressive. 

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Brunson, sitting in the audience, responded directly and cordially, saying he was riffing on a line from another era that referred to Korea as a dagger pointed at Japan, and that the full context of the comment was about changing perspectives in the region. He encouraged the Chinese delegate — Wang Dong of Peking University — to listen to his full remarks on the topic.

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Trump has deployed the US military into high-profile operations this year in both the Middle East, against Iran, and in the Caribbean. While the actions against Venezuela were broadly seen as successful, the conflict in the Middle East has disrupted global energy supplies through the closure of the Strait of Hormuz while also depleting critical munitions. 

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In response to another question earlier in the day, Hegseth said that a delayed $14 billion Taiwan arms package should be decoupled from the issue of munitions. 

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“Any decision about future Taiwan arms sales, as the president said, will rest with him,” Hegseth said.

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“Our stockpiles are more than suited for that, both there and around the globe, because of how we balance exquisite and more plentiful munitions,” Hegseth said. “We’re in a very good place.”

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Hegseth provided no updates on talks with Iran, or a missile strike that injured several Americans, saying only that the US is ready to step up the fight if there’s not a “great deal” that ensures Tehran’s leaders don’t get a nuclear weapon. He confirmed the US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz was still in place.

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While Hegseth also didn’t mention Iran in his prepared remarks, Trump has been frustrated by countries such as Italy for withholding access to their bases for US operations. That’s left NATO allies bracing for Washington to withdraw more support from the continent, after the Republican leader announced he would pull 5,000 troops out of Germany.

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Spain, which has drawn particular ire from Trump, is the only country to be granted an exemption from NATO’s new 5% defense spending target, leading to speculation the US could reduce its presence at its Rota or Moron bases. The US has about 85,000 military personnel currently stationed on the European continent.

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Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, NATO’s military chief, later sought to downplay tensions later in a Bloomberg Television interview. 

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“We don’t have any drama going on” with the US, he said, adding that the alliance had already responded to American demands to boost military spending. “I think we are in a good shape.”

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—With assistance from Josh Xiao, Philip J. Heijmans and Ramsey Al-Rikabi.

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(Updates with additional Hegseth comment on Taiwan.)

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