US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has warned of China posing an "imminent" threat to Taiwan, while urging Asian countries to boost defence spending and work with the US to deter war.

Appearing at the Shangri-La Dialogue, a security conference where world leaders such as French President Emmanuel Macron and Ministers for Defense from Japan, Australia and several other countries were also in attendance, Hegseth issued his most assertive statement on Taiwan to date, warning that threats from China could be “imminent.”

The threat China poses is real, and it could be imminent.” Is Mr Hegseth’s assessment correct? In fact a fog of uncertainty hangs over Taiwan. Last year American officials played down the importance of 2027 as a target date for the Chinese government,