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<\/p>\nFILE – Christian Lealiifano of Moana Pasifika is tackled by Billy Pollard of the Brumbies during the Super Rugby Pacific Round 5 match between the ACT Brumbies and Moana Pasifika in Canberra, Friday, March 22, 2024. (Lukas Coch\/AAP Image via AP, File)<\/p>\n
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SINGAPORE (AP) \u2014 American allies stressed the need for unity at a top defense conference Sunday, saying that as threats increasingly transcend regions, cooperation is more important than ever, even as Washington has become more critical of its traditional friends. <\/p>\n
U.S. President Donald Trump has been extremely harsh about NATO, and the comments at the Shangri-La conference came the day after U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth again chided Western European allies at the forum for not devoting enough resources to defense. <\/p>\n
Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi praised Hegseth for his commitment to the Indo-Pacific, but at the same time stressed the continued need for strong coalitions globally. <\/p>\n
\u201cDivision weakens deterrence, unity strengthens deterrence,\u201d he told the conference, hosted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf gaps emerge among the United States, Europe, and allies and like-minded countries, forces which take it as an opportunity will surely come in,\u201d he said. \u201cWe must prevent such a situation. We must keep our cooperation going on. Now is the time to make our cooperation even stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n
As China has been rapidly expanding and modernizing its military, Japan has been reshaping its own defense policy. Last month, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi\u2019s Cabinet scrapped a ban on lethal weapons exports, a major change in its postwar pacifist policy.<\/p>\n
China criticized the change, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun saying China would \u201cresolutely resist Japan\u2019s reckless moves toward a new type of militarism.\u201d<\/p>\n
Koizumi scoffed at that accusation as ironic, coming from China.<\/p>\n
\u201cThink about it, there is a country that has a huge arsenal of nuclear weapons and strategic bombers,\u201d he said, speaking in English. “Japan has neither of such weapons, and yet Japan is labeled new militarism. Isn\u2019t it strange?\u201d<\/p>\n
He said that transparency comes from \u201cdiscussion and dialogue\u201d and lamented that China had not sent its defense minister to the conference. <\/p>\n
In his speech Saturday, Hegseth applauded many Asian partners for their efforts to step-up defense spending, while reiterating criticism of European allies, who he suggested got \u201cdistracted by empty globalist rhetoric about the rules-based international order, while European capitals threw open their borders and hollowed out their militaries.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can have all the rules you want and rules are great,\u201d Hegseth said. \u201cBut if you can\u2019t back them up with hard power, the rules are not worth the paper they are written on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the conference Sunday, Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles, said he agreed with Hegseth’s point that \u201cthe rules based order needs to be underpinned by power,\u201d but at the same time said strong rules were \u201cmore important today than they have ever been.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cWe are all committed to a rules based system, because that is actually what gives middle powers like Australia or smaller countries agency,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
He also said alliances remain critical to the region’s defense. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a collective challenge and it demands a collective response, which is actually what the rules based order is all about,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Netherlands Defense Minister Dilan Yesilg\u00f6z-Zegerius said the current conflicts have global implications and demand a shared response. <\/p>\n
\u201cA war in Europe involves drones from Iran, soldiers and ammunition from North Korea and various types of support from China,\u201d she said. \u201cThe lesson is clear: regional tensions are no longer regional. Our security is interconnected.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said that if middle powers do not work together, they risk becoming spectators or the \u201csubject of conversations,\u201d but with coalitions they can help preserve stability. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact that international rules are being violated does not mean we should abandon them,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
“On the contrary, it means we must defend them more constantly and more courageously. International law may be imperfect, but history teaches us that the alternative is far worse.\u201d<\/p>\n
Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles talks to journalists during the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia’s annual defense and security forum, in Singapore, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP Photo\/Achmad Ibrahim)<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Japan’s Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, center, shakes hands with Netherland’s Defense Minister Dilan Yesilgoz Zegerius, right, during the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia’s annual defense and security forum, in Singapore, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP Photo\/Achmad Ibrahim)<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Malaysia’s Defense Minister Dato’ Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin delivers a speech during the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia’s annual defense and security forum, in Singapore, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP Photo\/Achmad Ibrahim)<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gestures as he speaks during the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia’s annual defense and security forum, in Singapore, Saturday, May 30, 2026. (AP Photo\/Achmad Ibrahim)<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Philippine’s Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro delivers his address during the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia’s annual defense and security forum, in Singapore, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP Photo\/Achmad Ibrahim)<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n
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