Sri Lanka, June 2 -- US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a stark warning regarding the threat posed by China during a defence summit in Singapore on May 31.

He stated that the threat from China was potentially "imminent" and urged allies in the Indo-Pacific to increase their defence spending.

Speaking for the first time at the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia's premier forum for defence leaders, militaries, and diplomats, Hegseth underscored that the Indo-Pacific region remains a priority for the Trump administration.

"There's no reason to sugar-coat it. The threat China poses is real, and it could be imminent," Hegseth said, in some of his strongest comments on the Communist nation since taking office in January.

He added that any atte...