Hello and welcome to NewsAar from the BBC World Service coming to you live from London with me John Donison.

And we're going to start the programme in the Lost Paradise, that is the luxury hotel resort of Shangri-La in Singapore.

At a major security conference there, the US Secretary of Defence, Pete Hegseth,

has accused China of seeking to change the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific region

and of rehearsing for a potential invasion of Taiwan.

Mr. Hegseth called on regional allies of the United States

to do their part and increase defense spending to counter

a Beijing, which according to him may be poised for action.

China's behavior toward its neighbors and the world is a wake-up call.

It has to be clear to all that Beijing is credibly preparing to potentially use military force to alter the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific.

We know. It's public that Xi has ordered his military to be capable of invading Taiwan by 2027.

Again, to be clear, any attempt by communist China to conquer Taiwan by force would result in devastating consequences for the Indo-Pacific and the

world. There's no reason to sugarcoat it. The threat China poses is real and it could be

eminent. We hope not, but it certainly could be. Well, also in Shangri-La, the EU foreign policy

chief, Kayakalas, put her faith in the so-called international order.

International law is the best deterrence for all countries, large and small.

The rules-based global order is also the only guarantee for our safety and self-determination.

When might replace is right, no border is safe.

In the area of major instability, this system is more important than ever.

If anything, this is the era that it was built for.

But we have to enforce the rules and reinforce them if need.

Well, Zhu Bo is a retired senior colonel in the Chinese People's Liberation Army. He's out

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