U.S. Pushes Allies to Increase Share of Regional Defense Costs

A senior U.S. defense official told a regional security gathering that Washington will no longer subsidize wealthy allies and expects partners to increase military spending. The remarks came amid discussion of China’s military expansion and U.S. readiness to resume strikes on Iran if talks fail.

The official said the United States has invested 5 percent of its GDP, totaling 5 trillion dollars, in its own military and that the era of Washington subsidizing wealthy nations was over. The statement was delivered at a forum attended by the Australian defense minister and the British defense secretary.

The official warned that a Pacific dominated by any hegemon would unravel the regional balance of power and that no state, including China, could impose its hegemony. “There is rightful alarm regarding China’s historic military buildup and the expansion of its military activities in the region and beyond,” the official said.

China’s defense minister skipped the dialogue for a second consecutive year. Last year Beijing accused the U.S. side of making vilifying remarks. A senior fellow at Tsinghua University who attended as part of the Chinese delegation described relations as complicated but said the U.S. representative struck a much better tone this year than last, attributing the shift to President Trump’s recent visit to China.

The official said the United States expects partners, not protectorates, and that strong alliances require everyone to have skin in the game with no freeloading. The official praised defense contributions from South Korea, the Philippines, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, and said Japan was taking concrete steps to bolster its defenses.