China accuses Pentagon chief Hegseth of ‘Cold War mentality,’ says US turning Pacific into ‘powder k

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Sunday issued a blistering statement that accused Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth of pushing a “Cold War mentality” and stoking “bloc confrontation” between China and the U.S.

The strong comments from Beijing came a day after Mr. Hegseth warned in a speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore that the threat of a Chinese military strike on the island democracy of Taiwan could be “imminent.”

Mr. Hegseth’s speech, which also warned of “devastating consequences for the Indo-Pacific and the world” in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, were some of the strongest comments toward China coming out of the Trump administration since it took power in January.

China quickly fired back.

“Hegseth deliberately ignored the call for peace and development by countries in the region, and instead touted the Cold War mentality for bloc confrontation,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in its statement. “No country in the world deserves to be called a hegemonic power other than the U.S. itself.”

The statement also said that the U.S. is turning the Pacific into a “powder keg” with its own deployment of military assets to the region. And Beijing warned the Trump administration to “never play with fire” on the matter of Taiwan.

The back-and-forth comments come against the backdrop of an increasingly antagonistic relationship between the two sides.