US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth ramped up the anti-China rhetoric today, accusing Beijing of increasingly assertive military activity as he welcomed pledges by Japan to accelerate its “defence” build-up.

“The threats we face are real and they are urgent,” he claimed during a visit to Japan. “China’s unprecedented military build-up and its aggressive military actions speak for themselves.”

Mr Hegseth said he was “glad” to see Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, speaking alongside US President Donald Trump this week, make a commitment to raise Japan’s military spending, calling it “wonderful.”

Ms Takaichi, who became prime minister only last week, told Mr Trump during their first summit that her government would raise military spending to 2 per cent of gross domestic product by March, two years ahead of the initial target date. Tokyo also plans to revise its ongoing national security strategy several years ahead of schedule.

“It’s an important step forward and one that we hope would be implemented and believe will be as soon as possible,” Mr Hegseth told a joint news conference, after talks with Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi.