India is ‘powerful’ and ‘modernising’ its military, says U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth

India is “powerful” and “modernising” its military with heavy industrial and logistics capacity to sustain “high-end military operations”, U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said on Saturday (May 30, 2026).

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Mr. Hegseth made these remarks while talking to the delegates at the Shangri-La Dialogue on Saturday (May 30, 2026) in Singapore.

“India is powerful and modernising its military,” he said and also highlighted that it is maintaining a balance of power, particularly in the Indian Ocean.

Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue, he noted that India was also “building a heavy industrial and logistics capacity to sustain high-end military operations.”

“We’ve also committed to pursuing co-production with India to advance capabilities,” said Mr. Hegseth, adding that America was undergoing a national manufacturing globalisation of its defence.

He also assessed defence-related relations with Japan, South Korea, ASEAN, and Australia.

Mr. Hegseth highlighted several points on the U.S.’ defence strategy in the region, noting that the Asia-Pacific was the most consequential region in the world, that the region’s security rested “disproportionately” on U.S. military power, and calling on nations to invest seriously in their own defence.

He pointed out that the relations between the U.S. and China are better than they have been in many years under U.S. President Donald Trump, but also that “no state, including China, can impose hegemony and hold the security of our nation and allies in question”.

Mr. Hegseth expressed Washington’s stand amidst global tension and the ongoing conflicts in West Asia and Europe, as well as growing uncertainty over the United States’ long-term strategic priorities in the Indo-Pacific.

The Shangri-La Dialogue, into its second day, brings together top officials from 44 nations this year.