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US not disengaging from Asia, seeks 'partners, not protectorates': Pentagon official
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In a speech in Manila, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby stated that the United States is not disengaging from Asia but is 'digging in' to maintain a favorable balance of power in the Indo-Pacific. He emphasized a strategy of deterrence by denial along the First Island Chain, which stretches from Japan to Taiwan, the Philippines, and Borneo. Colby called for allies to invest more in their own defense, seeking 'partners, not protectorates,' to strengthen deterrence. His remarks aim to counter concerns about Washington's reliability. The Philippines is the first stop on a trip that also includes Indonesia, Thailand, and Cambodia.
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The United States is not disengaging from Asia and is instead “digging in” to maintain a favorable balance of power in the Indo-Pacific, but expects its partners to shoulder more responsibility for their own defense, a senior Pentagon official said on Monday.
Seeking to counter concerns about Washington’s reliability, Elbridge Colby, undersecretary of Defense for Policy, reiterated U.S. interest in the region as he called for greater burden-sharing and “partnership, not dependency.”
“America is definitely not disengaging from Asia,” Colby said in a speech in Manila. “We are not leaving; in fact, we are digging in, to ensure a favourable balance of power where it matters most.”
The Philippines, the United States’ oldest treaty ally in Asia, is the first stop on a Southeast Asian trip that will also take Colby to Indonesia, Thailand, and Cambodia.
Colby said maintaining a favorable balance of power in the Indo-Pacific required a “posture of deterrence by denial along the First Island Chain” and pointed to what he described as a growing U.S. military commitment in the region. The First Island Chain refers to an area stretching from Japan down to Taiwan, the Philippines, and Borneo.
The strategy could not rest on American forces alone, he argued, stating that allies should invest more in their security.
“When we ask our allies and partners to step up, to invest more in their own defense, and to take responsibility for their own sovereign security, we are not signaling abandonment,” Colby said. “We are looking for partners, not protectorates.”
“When our partners are strong, deterrence is strong,” he added.
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US Reaffirms Indo-Pacific Commitment, Urges Allies to Share Defense Burden