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Secretary of War Pete Hegseth Holds a Press Availability at the U.S. Embassy in Singapore

May 30, 2026

SECRETARY HEGSETH: Well, thank you all very much for being here. Thank you for your patience. It's been a long couple of days, but productive couple of days. I mean, I think what you see is that America is a global superpower with global obligations, and President Trump is laser focused on a great deal, and Iran has the patience to see it through in historic fashion to make sure they never have a nuclear weapon. At the same time, I'm out here on his behalf to ensure that our Pacific allies know exactly where America stands, and that we're prepared to defend our interests, stand with our allies, and project power halfway around the world. And you see that through our national defense strategy. Yes, we're focused on the homeland and our hemisphere, but our ability to project power into the Pacific is central to how we plan and to how we work with our allies and partners. For all the meetings we held today, from Japan to South Korea to the Philippines to Indonesia to Thailand to Vietnam to Australia to the UK, when we're working together with partners with real capabilities with American leadership. I think there's no limit to what we've accomplished. So, thank you for joining us. And I look forward to a few questions.

Q: Yeah, I wanted to ask you, you know, this announcement here today seems like another step towards deterring China. I wanted to ask you, if you would characterize your remarks today as softer, potentially on China, compared to your remarks last year. As an example, last year you said a Chinese attack on Taiwan was quote imminent, and with that, has the US decided to pause that latest weapon shipment to Taiwan?

SECRETARY HEGSETH: I think our message today was very much in sync with precisely where the president wants to go, which is we're going to be strong, but we can speak softly while carrying that big stick and be very clear about the fact that there are places where we can work together with China. We respect their ambitions. We know that they have a significant military buildup that comes with considerations we have to take as a sovereign nation to ensure that we're prepared for any possible contingency. And at the same time, our position hasn't changed on Taiwan. I said that publicly in my remarks today. That was, but to have an opportunity with another global power to meet in person, as Xi and President Trump did. I think is precisely what the world would want to see, right? Is those two nations like that coming together to deconflict and to converse about the issues of the day is important. It doesn't necessarily signal a sea change in those relations or how they see the world, and that's what the President said also, but it's what I think everyone would like to see in that context.

Q: Thank you. What will you and the President need to see in order to run Iran's nuclear program in order to finalize the deal and open the street to Hormuz.

SECRETARY HEGSETH: Ultimately, like I said, any deal that the president is willing to make, he's only going to make it if he believes it's a great deal for our country and the security of the world, and only one president was willing to lay it out on the line and ensure after 47 years that Iran is not capable of having a nuclear weapon, and so he's, you saw it in what he's, how he's been talking about it publicly, it's those goal posts haven't shifted at all, which is the expectation the American people, and what we've stated to Iran. So, in the middle of negotiations, the closer they come to that reality, both now and into the future, the closer we're going to get to that kind of a deal, and I also, having been in the room with him, I know he means it when he looks in the camera in the cabinet room and said they can either do this now through a deal, and we think we're in a good place to make that deal, or they can deal with the War Department, and we are prepared, we're postured even stronger today than we were on day one to address it that way, if we have to, but he'd prefer not to. So, Iran knows very, very clearly what our expectations are, and that's on the negotiating team to deliver. They're coming in our direction. The talks have been productive. I think they know where it needs to go, and I'm quite confident with this with our president, who makes nothing but great deals, that ultimately it will be something he's proud to defend, that ensures that Iran, which everyone knows should not have a nuclear weapon, never does.

Q: One more question, do you think that the US and China need to set mutually agreed upon guard rail or standard on AI, and did you see any progress towards that when you were in Beijing?

SECRETARY HEGSETH: there were good productive conversations about that. I think the agreement was that we should keep talking about it to ensure that as that technology develops. I mean, you've got two things you want to be able to set guardrails, but you know, given the innovation capabilities of the United States of America, we also want to maintain an advantage and ensure that we can utilize that advantage responsibly as well. So it's kind of the, it's emblematic of that competing tension. Guardrails conversations are productive between two strong countries, but it's also our job to run the fastest, and certainly at the War Department, we're trying to do everything we can to maintain that advantage

Q: On China, in your remarks this morning, President Trump told you to go forward with that more. Did you meet with your counterpart one on one when you were in Beijing? And what sort of interactions and communications are you hoping to facilitate in the future?

SECRETARY HEGSETH: I did get a chance to meet with my counterpart in Beijing multiple times, in fact, sat next to him during a dinner, and we sort of, we had had a previous couple of meetings, and so it was an opportunity to deepen that. Unfortunately, he wasn't here at that level at Shangri-La, but I anticipate future, and we've set in place more regular rhythms for mil-to-mil contact, because it's not just the high-profile settings, it's the month to month basis, where you're talking about whether it's in the Pacific or elsewhere, what they're doing, what we're doing, what it really means, and how we deconflict that I think is going to matter the most, and that's the expectation of our leadership is, hey, we're starting a new chapter, which is more collaborative, and at the mil-to-mil level, our job is to make sure we facilitate that interaction as much as possible.

Q: Thank you so much. So, the US expects to make about 300,000 drones by 2027. Right now, Ukraine, it's estimated, makes between 10 and 20,000 a day. So, my questions are, what are we learning from Ukraine, and how are we putting that into practice? And then the second is, Zelensky is asking the United States to expand deliveries of Patriot missiles, those missile systems to defend against Russia. Will the US be doing that?

SECRETARY HEGSETH: What you'll see in President Trump's 2027 budget is $56 billion in investment in drone dominance. We, and continuing to learn from what Ukraine has done on the battlefield, it's not about having the exquisite systems, it's the ability to scale it, scale it quickly while adapting week after week. I mean, that's how quickly drone technology adapts, but given the, we have to do both, have the exquisite systems that can do what only America can do on autonomy, but also that attributable component, which has been so effective on both sides, but we've learned so much from Ukraine, and how on how they operate. So, it is an absolute focus of where we're going. We intend to not only be at parity, but the best in the world at it. I think you'll see from our department that kind of investment going forward. What was your second question again?

Q: Zelensky is asking the US—

SECRETARY HEGSETH: Oh, I mean, listen, we're changing the way we make all those types of important munitions to ensure that our companies are delivering not just a little bit more, but a lot, a bit more across the spectrum, and where we can, where we can help Ukraine, we have, where we can enable Europe to do more, we have, and I'm encouraged by the European commitment. If you look at the amount of money that's been spent, Europe has stepped up, and Ukraine has been just as, if not more, effective in the process. So we want them to be able to defend, and we'll find a way to make sure we can help them do that.

Q: If allies in the Indo-Pacific significantly step up their defense spending, can the US industrial base keep up and deliver the capabilities and systems that they would need and timelines required?

SECRETARY HEGSETH: That’s our job. That's I'd say is one of the biggest parts of my job that is hidden from public sight. How do we ensure that our defense industrial base is supercharged? That's why we talk about it every day. That's why our budget reflects a fundamental change in how we build out our manufacturing base. That's why we're asking companies to invest in new plants, new equipment, new production lines, and we're giving them order times, so they know, hey, for the next five to seven years, I'm going be making PAC-3s, I'm gonna be making tomahawks, I'm gonna be making THAADs, and so I will invest in new plants, which is American jobs and American investments. So now it's not just another additional 100 a year. It’s 3000 more a year, or 6000 more a year of any of those. Now it's not just our needs for our operational plans, but it's our allies out here who are counting on us. And then when we do that, we can point back at them and say now, here's where we can co-produce. You're a rich country who has the ability to make a more in the defense space partner with us in order to do that. In fact, that was some of the conversations we just had were on ramping up those types of munitions, so our partners have them, but also they can feed them back at us, and we've got even more capabilities.

Q: Did the Strait of Hormuz come up in Iran in your conversations with these leaders over the past 48 hours or so. You know, if there's an impact on this region because of that, even Vietnamese leader said that it was a flash point that could throw the rest of the world into turmoil. Did you discuss that with them? And is that blockade still in place?

SECRETARY HEGSETH: The blockade is very much still in place, and the Strait of Hormuz came up relatively often, and usually once we talked through it, countries were reassured that the American perspective accounted for that, which it did from the beginning, and that also our view toward energy, I think, will reshape the global map, and the President has talked about whether it's Texas or Venezuela or energy production. How the future in energy is actually an American future, and that's good for energy security around the world. In the meantime, I believe not just what we're able to do and are doing, whether it's known or unknown in the Strait, but also other countries putting pressure on Iran once a deal is had or not, depending on the choice they made. It will be an open strait, a toll-free strait that the entire world can use, which is the way that it should

Q: Mr. Secretary, your president recently previously called for Australia's help reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Did that come up in your conversations with your Australian counterpart today? And is Washington still looking for Australia's help there?

SECRETARY HEGSETH: Australia, when we've called Australia, in this context, they've been willing to help with whatever assets they can provide, and we're grateful for that. It's in keeping with how Australia has been a strong partner of ours. The bulk of the wait has been an American effort, especially on the blockade, which has been ironclad, and frankly has put the real pressure on Iran. They want to say that they control the strait, but we do, and everything behind the scenes shows that we are in control when it comes to that, including how the dynamics of the negotiation are coming together, but we appreciate the support they're providing. I think the meetings we had on AUKUS today, and other arrangements, especially in the Pacific, show that our alliance is as strong as it's ever been.

Q: On AUKUS, Mr. Secretary, you mentioned, you announced a new plan today for those underwater drones, but in Australia it's another part of the AUKUS deal that has been in focus lately, those Virginia class submarines. Is the U.S. committed to providing those subs on time? Can Australia count on the U.S. for that?

SECRETARY HEGSETH: I think they can, and that's why we did the review the way that we did, is to bring in, sure that what we're promising is aligned with what we're able to do, and previous administrations have not put enough emphasis on our defense industrial base or shipbuilding industrial base, and our budget, which we believe we will, we will get, and we're laser focused on making sure it happens, invests in American capabilities, American jobs that will deliver our ability to project those subs, but also provide inside this arrangement, but it's mutually beneficial. Those subs, obviously in the hands of Australia, are important for your defense, but they also add to the combined defense of what we would need to do. Heaven forbid there were a contingency. Just a couple more questions.

Q: Jay Hurst has mentioned in congressional testimony recently that when we're talking about funding supplemental funding from the Iran war for base reconstruction and repair, that it would depend on for structure and needs, and what that looks like. Is there consideration or discussion about permanently moving U.S. forces out of some of those bases that were hit during the war and not repairing them?

SECRETARY HEGSETH: It'll all, this will all be President Trump's decision, but depending on what direction we want to go. We feel good about the partnerships we've had in the region. Those decisions will be made, given the outcome. Right now, we're focused on being postured and prepared to reengage if we have to. I mean, this is a high-stakes negotiation. We've got the best negotiator in the world leading it. You know, Iran may not want to give up their nuclear ambitions, but we believe at the table they can and will over time, given the right set of incentives. But the most powerful incentive is the capabilities we have there right now, which they can't ultimately defend against at any real level. And so those are decisions in the future the president will make based on how this ends, but I feel confident that he'll get to a deal that serves the interests of the American people. Last question, here.

Q: Biden had cited U.S. policy was to defend Taiwan. Has US policy on Taiwan changed at all under the Trump administration?

SECRETARY HEGSETH: The policy we have on Taiwan is the same as it was at the beginning of this administration. The only change you might see is how we talk about the entire area. What I talked about today was strong, quiet but clear, ensuring our allies know precisely where we stand, whether it's open in public or behind closed doors, and that's why these meetings have been so important. But our stance on Taiwan remains unchanged, just as the President said when we came out of those historic meetings with China, and I think we're as strong of a position as we've ever been in the Pacific and around the world, so thank you very much. Appreciate it.

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Welcome to my blog

Saturday, May 30, 2026

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Secretary of War Pete Hegseth Holds a Press Availability at the U.S. Embassy in Singapore

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