The strategy of encircling the CCP with 40 countries has taken shape

 Direct translation

The US Defense Minister made a shocking statement at the Shangri-La Dialogue, shocking the audience and making the top CCP leaders wary

—Bad news for Zhongnanhai! The US Secretary of Defense named "Communist China" for the first time at the Shangri-La Dialogue, and the strategy of encircling the CCP with 40 countries has taken shape

Reporter : Wang Duruo / Editor : Zhongkang / https://www.aboluowang.com/2025/0531/2226613.html / Image : Web Screenshot

The 22nd Shangri-La Dialogue opened in Singapore on 30 May 2025. The US strategic layout in the Indo-Pacific has been upgraded and has become the biggest focus of the meeting. For the first time in the history of the Shangri-La Dialogue, U.S. Secretary of Defense Hegseth publicly named "Communist China" at the International Security Summit, vowing to rebuild regional deterrence and join forces with more than 40 countries to curb the expansion of the Chinese Communist Party, which shocked the audience.

Hegseth took the lead in holding talks with Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles and defense ministers of ASEAN countries on Friday, emphasizing that the United States will enhance collective defense capabilities by strengthening alliance relations and "curbing communist China's aggression in the Indo-Pacific region."

He clearly pointed out: "We are committed to fighting side by side with our allies to jointly deal with those forces that threaten the free and open Indo-Pacific region. Only by uniting and showing strength can we restore stability and deterrence."

For the first time in more than a decade, the US Secretary of Defense directly named "Communist China" at the Shangri-La Dialogue, which shocked the international security community. Associate Professor Zhuang Jiaying of the National University of Singapore pointed out that the U.S. intends to convey its long-term commitment to the stability of the Indo-Pacific and warns against any "unilateral change of the status quo".

At the same time, U.S. Air Force Secretary Troy E. Meink also emphasized at the Air Force Academy graduation ceremony on Thursday that the Indo-Pacific will be a strategic focus in the next few years. The US military has reshaped its layout, and its core tasks are "homeland defense" and "deterring the CCP".

Although Zhou Bo, a Chinese scholar and researcher at the Center for Strategic and Security Studies of Tsinghua University who participated in the 12th Shangri-La Dialogue, tried to downplay the US language, saying it was "ideologically charged", the actual actions of the US side were more firm and clear: first, it clearly stated that the risk of war was rising, and second, it sent a signal to Indo-Pacific countries that the CCP is no longer just a competitor, but a clear threat.

The CCP has long relied on divisive diplomacy and military exercises to intimidate and maintain its regional strategic advantage. Now the US has joined forces with more than 40 defense ministers to discuss countermeasures, which is a systematic countermeasure to the CCP's plot and a key sign of the Trump administration's strategic shift. Although Zhongnanhai did not respond directly, judging from the diplomatic tone and official media trends, Beijing's top leaders are extremely wary of "the U.S. Secretary of Defense naming".

This Shangri-La Dialogue has become a watershed in the strategic situation between the United States and China. Global military experts generally believe that the United States will no longer tolerate, but will officially sound the global alarm against the CCP's "red empire ambitions".