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Pentagon chief to visit Singapore this week for annual defense talks

Published: 28 May. 2025, 09:26

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth listens during an event with President Donald Trump to sign executive orders regarding nuclear energy in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on May 23. [AP/YONHAP]

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will embark on a trip to Singapore this week to attend an annual defense forum and other meetings on its sidelines as the Pentagon pursues a "shared regional vision for peace, stability and deterrence," the Pentagon said Tuesday.

Hegseth is set to depart Wednesday for Singapore to attend the Shangri-La Dialogue in the city-state, according to the Pentagon. It will mark his second official visit to the Indo-Pacific following his first trip to the region in March.

On Saturday, the secretary plans to deliver plenary remarks at the forum.

During his stay in Singapore, Hegseth is slated to meet Singapore's Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and other senior Singaporean officials, convene a multilateral meeting of his counterparts from Southeast Asia and join several trilateral and multilateral meetings with his counterparts from several Asian countries.

"Secretary Hegseth's second trip to the Indo-Pacific comes as the Department of Defense continues to strengthen U.S. relationships with allies and partners in support of a shared regional vision for peace, stability and deterrence," the Pentagon said in a press release.

Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun reported Monday that the United States, Japan, Australia and the Philippines were in talks to arrange a four-way defense ministerial meeting on the margins of the Shangri-La Dialogue.

Korea's acting Defense Minister Kim Sun-ho will not attend the forum, Seoul officials said, as the Asian country is set to pick a new president in the June 3 election. Instead, Deputy Defense Minister for Policy Cho Chang-rae is expected to join the forum.

In March, the secretary visited the Indo-Pacific region, including stops in Japan and the Philippines.

Yonhap