Pentagon’s Colby Says U.S. Is Digging In on Asia, Urges More Allied Defense Spending
Colby said Washington is not withdrawing from the Indo-Pacific and urged Asian allies to shoulder more defense costs to strengthen deterrence.
- On Monday in Manila, Elbridge Colby, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, stated the United States is "digging in" to the Indo-Pacific, emphasizing America is "definitely not disengaging" from Asia's security commitments.
- Colby said maintaining a favorable balance of power requires a "posture of deterrence by denial along the First Island Chain," pointing to growing American military commitment throughout the region.
- Seeking to counter reliability concerns, Colby called for greater burden-sharing, emphasizing "partnership, not dependency" and urging allies to invest more in defense, stating, "When our partners are strong, deterrence is strong."
- The Philippines, the United States' oldest treaty ally, serves as the first stop on Colby's Southeast Asian tour, which also includes Indonesia, Thailand, and Cambodia.
- Stretching from Japan down to Taiwan, The Philippines, and Borneo, the First Island Chain remains central to United States efforts to maintain regional power balances in the Indo-Pacific.
51 Articles
51 Articles
A senior U.S. War Department official stated that the United States is not withdrawing from the Indo-Pacific region, but rather further "deepening its roots" to maintain a favorable balance of power and prevent any country from establishing hegemony in the region. The official also stated that the United States hopes its partners in the Indo-Pacific region will assume greater responsibility for defense.
'US interests more engaged than ever in Indo-Pacific'—full speech of Under Secy of War Elbridge Colby
On his first official trip to Southeast Asia as Under Secretary of War for Policy, Elbridge Colby pushes for a strong and growing US investment in the Indo-Pacific region.
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In a speech during his Asia tour, U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby expressed his determination to defend the First Island Chain to contain China and criticized independent cooperation initiatives among middle powers that exclude the United States. Emphasizing that only the substantive military power of the U.S. military can deter coercion, he hinted at the need for changed U.S. partnership conditions and increased defens…
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