摘要：People in uniforms perform security duties outside the Shangri-La Hotel, the venue for the 22nd Shangri-La Dialogue, Singapore, Ma

People in uniforms perform security duties outside the Shangri-La Hotel, the venue for the 22nd Shangri-La Dialogue, Singapore, May 30, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

By Yuan Sha

Every year, when politicians, diplomats and experts propound their vision for security in the Asia-Pacific at the Shangri-La Dialogue, the annual security forum hosted by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies in Singapore, the proposals by the Chinese and American delegations are among the most watched.

It is especially so at this year's event, with the Chinese and U.S. thinking differing diametrically. While China has been advocating a shared future, the U.S. has been encouraging the creation of blocs and aggression.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who headed the U.S. delegation at the forum, outlined what to expect under the Trump administration.

"America is proud to be back in the Indo-Pacific – and we're here to stay," he said. According to him, achieving peace starts with deterring aggression in the Indo-Pacific, and the intention is to build up U.S. military strength: to "restore the warrior ethos, rebuild our military, and reestablish deterrence."

The Donald Trump administration will spend over $1 trillion next year to build up its arsenal, including building a defensive Golden Dome for America, and getting new sixth generation fighters, stealth bombers, submarines and destroyers. Hegseth also made it clear that the real target of this deterrence is China, calling it a "threat" and accusing it of hegemony.

Hegseth's provocative and divisive remarks were denounced by China. China's Foreign Ministry said he was "touting the Cold War mentality for bloc confrontation, vilifying China with defamatory allegations, and falsely calling China a 'threat'." China urged the U.S. to "fully respect the efforts of countries in the region to maintain peace and stability." China's vision makes it clear that it is opposed to aggression and is instead advocating peace, joint development and prosperity. Asia has long been a priority in China's diplomacy. During the 2025 Central Conference on Work Related to Neighboring Countries held in Beijing in April, Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized the need to focus on building a community with a shared future with neighboring countries.

He particularly stressed the "Asian values" of peace, cooperation, openness and inclusiveness as well as a security model for Asia characterized by seeking common ground while shelving differences, and prioritizing dialogue and consultation. This shows the priority given to Asia both in China's neighborhood diplomacy and also the overall diplomatic agenda.

It is in fact owing to China and other Asian countries' success in achieving "long peace" since the end of the Cold War that the region has been enjoying stability and prosperity. China subsequently expanded its vision for Asian security into the Global Security Initiative that prioritizes common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security.

People in uniforms perform security duties outside the Shangri-La Hotel, the venue for the 22nd Shangri-La Dialogue, Singapore, May 30, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

Washington's new strategic maneuvers in the region are disconcerting. On one hand, it is stirring up tensions by repeating the "China threat" concept without any ground, conducting confrontational naval military exercises with the Philippines, Japanese and South Korean forces in the South China Sea, and signaling its intention to step up arms sales to China's Taiwan. The last especially reneges on its commitment to the one-China principle, and as a result, threatens stability across the Taiwan Straits.

The U.S. is also waging an unprecedented tariff war on the world, pressuring its Asian allies to share defense burdens, and cutting off aid to less developed countries in Asia. All this casts doubt on the credibility, reliability and desirability of the U.S. vision of regional security. They also leave U.S. allies in Asia caught between abandonment and entrapment.

The U.S. policy has already alienated its long-time allies in Europe. French President Emmanuel Macron's keynote address at the forum emphasized the deepening trans-Atlantic divide as well as Europe's pursuit of greater "strategic autonomy" and diversification of security partnership, away from the U.S. to the Asia-Pacific region.

Given the high stakes, it is imperative for the regional countries to use the platform of Shangri-La to better communicate, express their common aspiration for peace and development, and curb the dangerous U.S. tendency to initiate bloc confrontations, and perhaps even a new Cold War in Asia.

Yuan Sha, a special commentator on current affairs for CGTN, is an associate research fellow at the Department for Global Governance and International Organization Studies, China Institute of International Studies.

来源：中国网一点号