India, May 31 -- US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth assured Pacific allies on Saturday that Washington remained committed to the region, but toned-down previous comments calling China a threat.

Speaking to a group of world leaders, diplomats and top security officials at the Shangri-La defence conference in Singapore, Hegseth said that the region "has profound implications for US security and prosperity" and that Washington's priority was to "achieve a lasting and favourable balance of power in the Pacific."

It was his second time addressing the forum, hosted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). Last year, he raised the ire of Beijing by warning of rapidly developing threats from China, particularly its aggressive...