National Security Correspondent Bill Gertz kept a close eye on the biggest developments out of the annual Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, one of the world’s highest-profile security forums. One of the key takeaways from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s speech is that the U.S. aims to prevent China from dominating the Indo-Pacific by enhancing military power and increasing backing from regional allies — but with less confrontational rhetoric.

Mr. Hegseth spoke of the administration’s desire for a “favorable but durable balance of power,” one in which no nation can impose its hegemony on the region or threaten key American allies across the Pacific.

It’s worth considering what those comments really mean. The new approach, Mr. Gertz reports, could reflect recent demands from Beijing for the U.S. to adopt “respect” for the Chinese Communist system. And in some ways, the unfolding U.S.-China dynamic could harken back to the Cold War.

Balance of power was a central feature of the Cold War but was rejected by the late President Ronald Reagan in favor of a strategy that eventually helped lead to the defeat of the communist Soviet Union.

Technically, there is a pause in hostilities in the U.S.-Iran war. But the weekend brought renewed clashes across the region, further straining the already highly fragile ceasefire between the two warring sides.

Iran shot down an American MQ-1 Predator drone, leading to U.S. strikes against multiple Iranian military targets. Separately, American forces fired a Hellfire missile into the engine room of a commercial ship trying to circumvent a U.S.-led blockade of Iranian ports.

Kuwait came under a new wave of missile fire, believed to be from Iran. And in Lebanon, Israeli forces conducted their deepest incursion into the country in 26 years, capturing the strategic Beaufort Castle.

All of that comes as the Trump administration pushes for a ceasefire extension, but only if Iran agrees to new, tougher demands by the U.S., including a written promise never to develop or attempt to buy a nuclear weapon.

The French Navy, with backing from the U.K., intercepted a sanctioned oil tanker traveling from Russia as Europe looks to clamp down on the energy profits Moscow is using to help fund its war in Ukraine.

French maritime authorities said the ship originated from the Russian port of Murmansk. French President Emmanuel Macron announced the operation in a social media post that included dramatic video footage of French soldiers rappelling from a hovering helicopter onto the deck of the ship, the Tagor.

French forces have boarded at least two other tankers this year, both in the Mediterranean Sea, forcing at least one of them to pay fees before release. The vessels are suspected of being part of Russia’s “shadow fleet,” a network used to transport illicit goods.

The long-term geopolitical fallout from U.S. military intervention in Venezuela could be coming into focus.

Months after a U.S. raid to capture former President Nicolas Maduro, the new government of acting President Delcy Rodríguez is facing mounting pressure. Those loyal to the Maduro government — and to the late Hugo Chavez, Venezuela’s longtime leader and Mr. Maduro’s political mentor — are publicly airing their disagreements with the new government and even discussing publicly rumors that an insider’s betrayal helped the U.S. depose Mr. Maduro in January.

Ms. Rodríguez has, among other things, complied with U.S. demands and shuffled the government, removed ministers, pushed legislation through the National Assembly to overhaul the nation’s oil industry and released political prisoners.

The Trump administration is banking on the new government turning Venezuela from a glorified narco-state friendly with China and Russia into a security and economic ally of the United States. But potential political upheaval in Caracas could impact that calculation.

There’s no question that the U.S. war on Iran has led directly to higher gas prices across America. But should we all be willing to make the financial sacrifice to finally deal with Iran, the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism?

In a new op-ed for The Washington Times, columnist Everett Piper argues that we should, because it’s a relatively small price to pay to forever stop Iran’s quest for a nuclear weapon.

“It is nothing short of astounding that someone would suggest that Iran is not a threat to the United States, and it is equally amazing that so many of us are unwilling to make a sacrifice as inconsequential as paying a bit more for gasoline if it will stop these mullahs from acquiring the means to do exactly what they have told us for decades they intend to do,” says Mr. Piper, an author, radio host and former president of Oklahoma Wesleyan University.

• June 2 — War at Arm’s Length: How America Can Build Effective Partners Through Military Assistance, Brookings Institution

• June 3 — Stolen Revolution: Betrayal and Hope in Modern Iran, Brookings Institution

• June 3 — Building America’s Cyber Force: Findings from the Commission on Cyber Force Generation, Center for Strategic and International Studies

• June 4 — Pandora’s Prompt: AI and the Biological Threat, Atlantic Council

• June 11 — 2026 CNAS Virtual National Security Conference, Center for a New American Security

• June 12 — Winning the Innovation Competition (Featuring Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering Emil Michael), Hudson Institute

• June 18 — Deterring Russia and China: Securing America’s Nuclear Future, Hudson Institute

• June 24 — IndoPac 2026 | Naval Dominance: Shipbuilding, Autonomy & C2, Threat Status Events