Defense Secretary Pete Hegses declared early Wednesday that he was “ready” for a war with China just hours after the US surprised the threat from Beijing in response to President Trump's harsh new tariffs.
“We're ready,” Heggs said on Fox News' Fox and Friends, “the kind of war” and “there are ready to fight.”
“Those who long for peace must prepare for war,” Hegses said.
“That's why we are rebuilding our military. That's why we are reestablishing the deterrence of the warrior's mind. We live in a dangerous world with powerful and dominant countries with very different ideologies.”
“They are rapidly increasing defense spending, modern technology. They hope to replace the US,” the Defense SEC continued.
“If we want to stop war with the Chinese and others, we must be strong.”
The Hegseth threat came after China declared late Tuesday that it was ready to return shortly after Trump's first 10% tariff on Chinese imports doubled to 20%, after they were ready to applause if the US faced a trade or tariff war.
“If war is what the US wants, whether it's a tariff war, a trade war or another kind of war, we're ready to fight to the end,” China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Lyn Zian said in a statement.
China has retaliated quickly against fresh tariffs and announced its own 10%-15% hike to import taxes covering the range of American produce and food.
It also placed 25 US companies under export and investment restrictions for national security reasons.
Meanwhile, Hegus later argued that Trump had “great relations” with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and that the United States would continue to push for “historic peace and historical opportunities.”
“My job as Secretary of Defense is to make sure we are ready,” he said.
“We need defence spending, capabilities, weapons, and an Indo-Pacific attitude, which is something we are very focused on.”
With post wire
