China criticized the United States on Sunday for having a "Cold War mentality" after Pete Hegseth appeared to warn that the U.S. is prepared to go to war to prevent China from dominating the Indo-Pacific.

China lodged a protest over Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s speech at a defense forum in Singapore on Saturday, even as Beijing chose not to send its top military diplomat to the annual event. Hegseth chided China during the Shangri-La Dialogue,

China has lashed out at U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth following his remarks at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, where he warned that China could imminently use military force against Taiwan.

Pete Hegseth is sounding the alarm on China. “There’s no reason to sugarcoat it,” President Donald Trump’s defense secretary said at a summit in Singapore. “The threat China poses is real, and it could be imminent.

China lit up the U.S. government on Sunday after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told delegates at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore that China was a threat

China has accused the US of "fear-mongering" after Donald Trump’s defence secretary Pete Hegseth said a Chinese invasion of Taiwan could be imminent.China's foreign ministry objected to Mr Hegseth calling it a threat in the Indo-Pacific,

In his opening remarks, Hegseth warned China seeks no less than hegemony over the region and is increasingly willing to resort to force. He cited confrontations in the South China Sea, including incidents in which China's coast guard used water cannon against Philippine vessels, injuring several people last year.