Photo:Global Times

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth delivered a speech at the first plenary session of the 22nd Shangri-La Dialogue on Saturday morning. After the speech, Da Wei, director of Center for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University who attended the event, said when accepting media interview that the signal the US wanted to convey was "heard clearly," however, its credibility remains highly questionable.

Da noted that the core intention of Hegseth's speech was to convey a message that "the US is an Indo-Pacific nation, and we attach importance to this region." The expert said "this signal is heard clearly," however, he immediately questioned the credibility.

Considering the US' actions in the world, regional countries' trust in Washington, and the complexity of China relations, Da posed a series of rhetorical questions: "If the US claims to respect its neighbors, how does it treat Canada, Panama, and European countries? On one hand, it imposes tariffs to suppress their economies, while on the other hand, it demands these countries cooperate with it in countering China. Is such a foundation for cooperation really reliable?"

Regarding Hegseth's claim that Asia-Pacific countries should trust and support the US like European countries do, Da noted, "The reality is that European countries' trust in the US is weakening, not strengthening." 

Da suggested that Hegseth should perhaps listen more carefully to the true opinions of European allies regarding the US.