When pressed on the thorny matter, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth offered a quick zinger. He was here at Asia’s preeminent security forum to talk “tanks, not tariffs.” Concerns over the White House’s protectionism and its impacts on a region knitted together by trade were,

The assessment is a major departure for the U.S. government, and it came with a nudge that nations must choose between Washington and Beijing.

The US defence secretary called on Asian countries to boost defence spending and work with the US to deter war.