Singapore: India is “powerful” and “modernising” its military with heavy industrial and logistics capacity to sustain “high-end military operations”, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said on Saturday.
Hegseth made these remarks while talking to the delegates at the Shangri-La Dialogue on Saturday in Singapore.
“India is powerful and modernising its military,” he said and also highlighted that it is maintaining a balance of power, particularly in the Indian Ocean.
Speaking at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Hegseth said the United States was committed to preserving stability across the Asia-Pacific while encouraging allies and partners to assume greater responsibility for their own defence.
His remarks underscored a broader shift in US strategic thinking under President Donald Trump, with Washington increasingly pressing friendly nations to expand military spending and play a larger role in maintaining regional security.
India Recognised for Strengthening Military Preparedness
Among the countries singled out for praise was India, which Hegseth cited alongside Vietnam as an example of a nation improving its military readiness amid a changing security environment.
He also commended the Philippines, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore for what he described as their willingness to contribute more actively to collective defence efforts and regional partnerships.
“The bedrock of partnership is alignment on national interests,” Hegseth said, adding that the United States would pursue a “strong, quiet, clear” approach to its alliances.
The defence secretary argued that regional partnerships function most effectively when member states contribute meaningfully to shared security objectives rather than relying disproportionately on American military resources.
US Warns China Over Regional Military Expansion
While describing current US-China ties as being among the strongest in recent years, Hegseth nevertheless delivered one of his sharpest critiques of Beijing’s strategic posture.
Washington seeks “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,” he said.
