The defense chiefs of “the Squad” grouping, which brings together Japan, Australia, the U.S. and the Philippines, met Saturday in Singapore for talks on the sidelines of a regional security summit as the four looked to push back against Chinese military assertiveness in Asia.
In opening remarks ahead of the meeting, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth called the grouping the most “strategically positioned to manifest deterrence, to bring about peace” amid “an unprecedented military buildup by China.”
“That is our shared goal,” he said during the gathering, which also included the top military commanders of each country. “That's what we talk about when the cameras are here. That's what we talk about when the cameras are not here.”
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