Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth left Washington for Singapore today to attend an annual Asian security summit and meet with an assortment of defense counterparts.
"We're going out to Singapore to hold a series of meetings to ensure that region understands America will be strong," Hegseth told reporters prior to boarding his flight at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland.
As part of his second official trip to the Indo-Pacific region, Hegseth is scheduled to deliver plenary remarks Saturday at the International Institute for Strategic Studies Shangri-La Dialogue.
The three-day event is described as a "premier defense summit" where regional defense ministers "debate the region's most pressing security challenges, engage in important bilateral talks and come up with fresh approaches together," according to the event's official website.
During his remarks, Hegseth is expected to outline the Defense Department's vision for the Indo-Pacific region while underscoring how vital the region is to U.S. interests.
As part of that vision, the secretary will discuss the threat that China poses to the region and how the United States is prepared to deal with that threat.
In line with that, Hegseth is expected to use his remarks to highlight the ways the U.S. is reestablishing deterrence in the region.
"We seek no conflict with anybody, including the communist Chinese," Hegseth told reporters. "But we will deter. … We will stand strong for our interests; and that's a big part of what this trip is all about."
Along with delivering remarks at the Shangri-La Dialogue, Hegseth is also slated to meet with Singapore's prime minister and other senior officials from the nation state.
Additionally, he is scheduled to have a bilateral meeting with the Philippine Defense Secretary, Gilberto Teodoro. This will be the second meeting between the two senior defense officials, as Hegseth traveled to the Philippines in late March of this year during his first trip to the region.
Hegseth's trip to the Indo-Pacific comes as the DOD continues to strengthen U.S. relationships with allies and partners in support of a shared regional vision for peace, stability and the aforementioned reestablishment of deterrence.