Hello and welcome to News Hour from the BBC World Service,
coming to you live from London with me, John Donison.
And we're going to start the programme in the lost paradise that is the luxury hotel resort of Shangri-La in Singapore.
At a major security conference there, the US Secretary of Defence...
Pete Hegseth has accused China of seeking to change the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific region and of rehearsing for a potential invasion of Taiwan.
Mr Hegseth called on regional allies of the United States to do their part and increase defence spending to counter a Beijing,
which, according to him, may be poised for action.
China's behaviour toward its neighbours and the world is a wake-up call.
It has to be clear to all that Beijing is credibly preparing to potentially use military force to alter the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific.
We know, it's public,
that Xi has ordered his military to be capable of invading Taiwan by 2027.
Again, to be clear,
any attempt by communist China to conquer Taiwan by force would result in devastating consequences for the Indo-Pacific and the world.
There's no reason to sugarcoat it.
The threat China poses is real and it could be imminent.
We hope not, but it certainly could be.
Well, also in Shangri-La, the EU foreign policy chief,
Kaya Callas, put her faith in the so-called international order.
International law is the best deterrence for all countries, large and small.
The rules-based global order is also the only guarantee for our safety and self-determination.