India, May 31 -- Washington hopes to avoid conflict with China even as it steps up efforts to deter Beijing through Asian partners like India, US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said at the Shangri-La Dialogue, a marquee geopolitical conference in Singapore.

Addressing the conference that attracts some of Asia's most influential politicians, military officials, and geopolitical analysts, Hegseth laid out America's approach to the Indo-Pacific. "We do not seek conflict with Communist China. We will not instigate nor seek to subjugate or humiliate. President Trump and the American people have an immense respect for the Chinese people and their civilization. But we will not be pushed out of this critical region. And we will not let our allie...