TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — The United States (US) will ensure “robust, ready and credible deterrence” across the Taiwan Strait, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Sunday, calling China “aggressive and coercive.”

Hegseth also stopped short of publicly calling on Tokyo to hike military spending, saying in Japan he trusted the close US ally to “make the correct determination of what capabilities are needed.”

“America is committed to sustaining robust, ready and credible deterrence in the Indo-Pacific, including across the Taiwan Strait,” Hegseth said, using Washington’s term for the Asia-Pacific region.

Beijing has stepped up military pressure in recent years around Taiwan, including near-daily air incursions, and has not ruled out using force to bring the self-ruled island under its control.

US President Donald Trump’s “America First” approach could mean weakening the US commitment for security in the region, analysts have warned.

But Hegseth said the previous US administration had “created this vacuum, a perception that America was not strong, and wasn’t prepared to deter conflicts from starting.”