“We are charting a new course for our alliances and partnerships: one that is grounded in the realities of power and interests. It is a course that will leave America stronger, our allies and partners more capable, and the Pacific region more stable and secure,” Hegseth said.
During his 25-minute speech, Hegseth said the United States will pursue what he described as true partnership with allies and partners across the region. He said this means empowering partner nations while reducing reliance on the United States.
“The era of the United States subsidizing the defense of wealthy nations is over. We need partners, not protectorates. We seek alliances built on shared responsibility, not dependency,” Hegseth said.
He described the approach as the “maturation of alliances in a new era”. He said it would place alliances on a more sustainable footing and prepare them for future security challenges.
Hegseth said the Indo-Pacific has major implications for U.S. security and prosperity. He also pointed to concerns over China’s military build-up and expanded military activity in and beyond the region.
“This alignment is based on a clear-eyed assessment of the security environment. And a mutual understanding that a Pacific dominated by any hegemon would unravel the regional balance of power and undermine the equilibrium we all seek to preserve,” he said.
Hegseth said the War Department is not approaching the challenge through confrontation. Instead, he said it is seeking a strong, quiet and clear posture based on measured and deliberate strength.
“What we seek — and what [President Donald J. Trump] has consistently articulated —is a genuinely stable equilibrium that works for Americans as well as for our allies. A favorable, but durable, balance of power in which no state — including China — can impose its hegemony and hold the security or prosperity of our nation and our allies in question,” Hegseth explained.
He said the United States wants to preserve the conditions that have supported peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific. He described Washington’s role as one focused on maintaining equilibrium.
“We are the power working to sustain equilibrium, not disrupt it, plain and simple,” he said.
Hegseth said recent discussions with the Chinese government had helped reinforce a foundation for stable peace, fair trade and respectful relations. He added that his role and the War Department’s role are to provide military strength in support of the president’s diplomacy.
“While a decent peace is our goal, make no mistake: America is a Pacific nation, and we insist that China respect our longstanding position in this region. And not just insist, but maintain, the manifest military strength to underwrite it,” Hegseth said.
To maintain peace through strength, Hegseth said the United States would no longer rely on what he called “performative outrage” from politicians. He said the U.S. military would lead through actions rather than words.
“We will prioritize lethal capabilities, strategic discipline and businesslike cooperation over empty rhetoric and peacocking. Any potential opponent will be forced to judge us by our hard power, collective readiness and our steadfast resolve,” he said.
Hegseth said the U.S. military posture in the Pacific will be resilient, distributed and designed to deny quick and decisive gains by force. He said this approach forms the basis of a durable peace in the region.
“This is the logic of strategy, this is the essence of peace through strength, and this is the foundation of a durable peace in the Pacific that benefits all of us,” Hegseth said, adding, “We all benefit from this policy, because our quiet, but clear, strength will lead to stability and peace.”
He then returned to the National Defense Strategy and its emphasis on partnership rather than dependency. He said the strategy calls for greater burden-sharing with allies and partners while enabling them to contribute to collective defense.
“It’s a two-way street [and] you don’t have a strong alliance unless everyone has skin in the game,” Hegseth explained.
Hegseth said he was optimistic that U.S. allies in the Indo-Pacific would increase their contributions because of shared national interests and the threat environment. He said progress was already visible across the region.
“In this region, I am optimistic that our allies — driven by our shared national interests and the unprecedented threat environment — will step up and step up for real. In fact, we’re already seeing progress,” he said.
He highlighted defense commitments involving South Korea, the Philippines, Japan, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and India. He said shared industrial capability is not only a long-term objective but an immediate operational requirement.
“This kind of shared industrial muscle isn’t just a long-term goal; it is an immediate, operational imperative,” he said, while adding that “Allies who refuse to step up and carry their own weight for our collective defense will face a clear shift in how we do business.”
Hegseth ended his remarks by urging partners and allies to invest in their own defense and security. He also called for closer cooperation with the United States to advance shared interests and preserve the regional balance of power.
“Join us in embracing this vision in building a team of strong, self-reliant nations [that are] fully capable of defending their own sovereignty, while contributing to our collective security in preserving the favorable balance of power that benefits us all,” he said, adding, “That time is now; the challenges we face are real, but so is the opportunity before us. We must meet that moment, and may Almighty God bless all of our troops in harm’s way.”
Source: U.S. Department of War.
