US defence chief touts ‘flexible realism’ with China ahead of strategy document

SCMP | Dec. 8, 2025, 5:01 a.m. | Original
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US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth addresses the Reagan National Defence Forum in Simi Valley, California, on Saturday. Photo: Reuters

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth sent out a message of peace, dialogue and “flexible realism” with China in a weekend speech that offered a brief preview of the forthcoming national defence strategy.

In his keynote address at the annual Reagan National Defence Forum on Saturday, Hegseth said Washington was committed to putting “America first” and avoiding involvement in foreign entanglements as it prioritised domestic security.

Yet, in drawing comparisons between the Trump administration’s military strategies and those of former Republican president Ronald Reagan, Hegseth said Donald Trump was “hell-bent” on “maintaining and accelerating the most powerful military the world has ever seen”.

Hegseth highlighted four distinct “lines of effort” to achieve America’s goals: defending the US homeland and its hemisphere; deterring China through strength rather than force; increasing burden-sharing between the US and its allies and partners; and supercharging America’s defence industrial base.

Pete Hegseth says US-China relations under the Trump administration are stronger than in many years. Photo: AFP
Pete Hegseth says US-China relations under the Trump administration are stronger than in many years. Photo: AFP

The defence chief’s comments appeared to preview the coming National Defence Strategy (NDS). Expected to be released later this month, the NDS is an elaboration of how the Pentagon will implement the National Security Strategy (NSS) unveiled last week.

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