Singapore Sensation: Hegseth's Silence Reveals Systemic Crisis in US Military

The Pentagon's decision not to mention Taiwan at a major security forum has sparked discussion about shifting US priorities, military-industrial challenges, and the future balance of power in the Asia-Pacific region.

Photo: commons.wikimedia.org by Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

Pete Hegseth (52251959683)

Pentagon Forgets About Taiwan

Behind Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's diplomatic silence on Taiwan lies a systemic crisis within the American military-industrial complex and tactical doctrines.

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth pointedly avoided mentioning Taiwan in his keynote speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue forum in Singapore on May 30. Western analysts believe this was done to avoid unnecessary confrontation with Beijing.

US President Donald Trump openly described a new $14 billion military aid package for Taiwan as "a very good bargaining chip” in trade negotiations with China. The Trump administration has frozen or put on hold direct calls and deals with Taipei, likely receiving in return China's agreement on supplies of rare earth elements that are critically important for the Republican administration, as well as purchases of soybeans from American farmers.

However, the real reason behind the suspension of deliveries remains unspoken: the weakness of the US defense industry, which lost the war against Iran.

What the Pentagon Is Not Talking About

1. There is simply nothing left to send to Taiwan. The leading analytical center CSIS states that stockpiles of critical munitions have fallen to levels that threaten US national security itself. For example, approximately 50 percent of all American Patriot interceptor missiles were used against Iran, along with up to 50 percent of THAAD missile defense interceptors, 27 percent of Tomahawk cruise missiles, and up to 45 percent of the latest PrSM ballistic missiles. At the same time, production facilities lack the capacity to replenish these stocks. According to expert estimates, even with maximum funding and new contracts, the United States would require three to five years of continuous production merely to restore missile inventories to their early-2024 levels.
2. There are not enough solid-fuel rocket motors or the specific chemical components required for new missiles, while Pentagon contractors remain overloaded with orders for years ahead.
3. Defense factories lack tungsten, a material essential for armor-piercing ammunition, rocket motors, and specialized alloys. China maintains control over much of the global tungsten market through strict export restrictions imposed in response to American tariffs.
4. The American concept of rapid warfare has exhausted itself. Multi-billion-dollar military budgets no longer guarantee a quick victory over a technologically weaker but resourceful adversary. The Pentagon still needs to absorb this lesson because China is not a "weak” Iran.

China will undoubtedly learn from Iran how to use drones against the US Navy, which, according to the lessons of the Iranian conflict, lacks complete protection against simultaneous attacks involving hundreds of inexpensive maritime and aerial drones. Such mass assaults can overwhelm a ship's close-range defense systems and open the way for missile strikes.

As a result, Washington's policy shift is a forced one. There may be no more high-profile visits to Taiwan by congressional leaders and fewer major arms deliveries, but the United States will continue to undermine China quietly. There is little doubt about that.

China Has Time to Prepare for a War With the United States

First, Washington will pressure its Asian allies to take greater responsibility for their own defense and participate more actively in US-led alliances such as AUKUS and the Quad.

Second, the United States will demand that its partners stop purchasing advanced technologies from Beijing. Washington is presenting its allies with an ultimatum: either halt such purchases or face punitive tariffs if they refuse to close their markets to Chinese electric vehicles, lithium batteries, and solar panels.

Third, the United States will push allies to completely restructure supply chains involving pharmaceuticals, rare earth elements, and semiconductors, relocating production from China to "friendly countries” or back to the United States. Taiwan's chip industry is also facing pressure to follow this path.

There is a rule: never trust the Americans, because they will betray you as soon as they decide friendship is no longer in their interests. Taiwan may soon experience this firsthand.

China, meanwhile, has time to prepare for war. Knowing that its rival is also learning and adapting, Beijing is already reducing its dependence on the Strait of Malacca by building oil pipelines through Myanmar and Pakistan while increasing overland energy imports from Russia and Central Asia.