Hegseth beats the drums of war

Written by: Bill F. on 3 June 2025

At the recent Shangri-la Dialogue in Singapore, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth beat the drums of war against China, proclaiming America’s right to dominate the Pacific Ocean and pledging to militarily combat any move by China to regain its Taiwan territory. (formal name Republic of China)

Hegseth proclaimed that such a move by the Chinese was “imminent” and that countries in the region must increase their military defence spending to meet the targets set by President Trump – 3-5% of Gross Domestic Product.

Never mind that most of the countries present have peaceful trade relations with China. Never mind that they have copped Trump’s disruptive and oppressive tariffs. Hegseth demanded they ramp up their military capabilities to augment US imperialism as it competes with Chinese imperialism a long way from the US mainland.

Australia didn’t miss out either. Hegseth got stuck into Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles complaining Australia wasn’t spending enough on weapons acquisition and demanding that Australia commits up to $40 billion rather than the current $2 billion, raising defence spending to $3.5 billion in budget estimates. This would be on top of Australia handing over to the US control and access to ports and airfields and locking the country in as a launching pad for the US war machine. Oh! And let’s not forget the $800 million already coughed up and with no guarantee of delivery or reimbursement for (unlikely) nuclear submarines in the distant future, as long as the US gets its own first!

Where would all this money go? US arms manufacturers, the military industrial complex most likely, and certainly in Australia’s case, being locked into “interoperability “with US forces and equipment. As a decaying imperialism under pressure, the US must rely more and more on overt threats and force.
Marles, the seasoned collaborator of US imperialism, grovelled and grinned, nodding in agreement with Hegseth. No doubt it was all recorded by the snoops at Pine Gap.

Prime Minister Albanese, on the other hand, publicly seemed less enthusiastic. Already a bit cranky over Trump’s tariff hike on steel and aluminium, he was well aware that large sections of the Australian people are repelled by Trump and wary or outright opposed to the AUKUS deal and war with China. He wasn’t going to openly grovel like Marles, even though he would never oppose or reject the influence and control of US imperialism.

Before US imperialism manoeuvres the country into another US war that makes Australia a nuclear target, a powerful mass people’s movement or united front must be built to unite and organise, and eventually challenge the hold of imperialism. To win, the working class needs to push up front and seize the running.

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