U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth says China’s Pacific military buildup may be the largest in world history

U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said Saturday that China is carrying out what he described as possibly the largest military buildup in world history, as he addressed University of Tennessee ROTC cadets in Knoxville during his “Send Me Tour.”

“The single largest buildup in modern history, but maybe in world history, is what China is building out in the Pacific,” Hegseth said.

He said the War Department is working every day to deter any change to the status quo along the first and second island chains, in the South China Sea and across the Pacific.

Hegseth also addressed Iran, saying the United States “can’t live in a world where crazy people have the world’s most destructive bombs and weapons.”

On Yemen, he pointed to the 2025 U.S. campaign against the Houthis, Operation Rough Rider, and said the group had not fired at U.S. ships during Operation Epic Fury because it had seen what the United States was capable of.

Hegseth also warned people operating vessels carrying drugs: “I wouldn’t want to get in a drug boat right now because we will find you and we will blow you out of the water.”

Recalling his deployment as an Army captain in Afghanistan, Hegseth said roughly 50 national flags were displayed at coalition headquarters in Kabul, but argued that only a small number of NATO and ISAF members ultimately participated in combat operations. He recalled troops joking that ISAF stood for “I Saw Americans Fighting.”

Hegseth told the service members and cadets that the U.S. military was “in the peacemaking business,” adding that if one institution deserved the Nobel Peace Prize every year, “it actually should be the United States military.”

His Knoxville visit also included administering the oath of enlistment to new recruits and attending Saturday’s Tennessee-Alabama football game at Neyland Stadium.