U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth delivered a veiled warning to Tokyo on Saturday, saying that while Japanese defense spending was ¡°headed in the right direction,¡± more must be done.

¡°We¡¯re not at the finish line yet, and there¡¯s still some heavy lifting ahead, but the momentum is headed in the right direction,¡± Hegseth said during a speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore. ¡°We have high expectations of our Japanese allies, and together we can and must each pull our weight.¡±

Hegseth highlighted China¡¯s growing power and the need to prevent its dominance of the region, warning of ¡°rightful alarm¡± over ?its rapid military buildup.