US President Donald Trump has instructed the Department of Defence to strengthen preparations to deter Russia and China amid the ongoing tensions, according to Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth.
Washington does not seek confrontation with them, but wants to maintain a strong deterrence posture, he said. Speaking to Fox News, Hegseth said: “Unfortunately, the weakness of the previous administration has driven Russia and China closer together. That’s a terrible development of a lack of American leadership.” “But that’s why President Trump has charged us at the Defence Department to be prepared, to rebuild our military in historic ways, to restore the warrior ethos and re-establish deterrence. Not because we seek conflict, we do not.” The Pentagon chief underscored that US preparations are defensive in nature, adding, “We’ve made that clear to China, Russia and other countries. It’s because being prepared prevents conflict.” “So we know what they believe and who they are. We also know how strong we are and what military advantages we have,” Hegseth said. “Our task is to maintain these military advantages in space, in air, at sea, underwater & with long-range weapons. All of our capabilities, ‘Golden Dome’, that China knows it cannot replicate, and we will do so within this administration,” he said. On Beijing and Moscow’s show of unity, he said, “Demonstrations & parades are good, but the US hopes they will not manifest themselves in form of real military conflict.”Agencies