Pentagon pressures Japan and Australia on actions in potential war with China over Taiwan - FT
Kyiv • UNN
The Pentagon is demanding that Japan and Australia clearly define their actions in the event of a US-China war over Taiwan, causing frustration among allies. This is part of US efforts to strengthen deterrence and prepare for a potential conflict.
The Pentagon is pressuring Japan and Australia to clearly define their actions in the event of a US-China war over Taiwan. This was reported by Financial Times, citing five unnamed individuals familiar with the negotiations, UNN reports.
Details
According to the publication's sources, this pressure is causing frustration among the two most important US allies in the Indo-Pacific region.
Elbridge Colby, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy and Force Development, has been pressing this issue in meetings with Japanese and Australian defense officials in recent months. ... These efforts are his latest attempt to persuade US allies in the Indo-Pacific to strengthen deterrence and prepare for a potential war over Taiwan.
Subsequently, Colby wrote on social media platform X that the Pentagon is implementing President Donald Trump's program of "restoring deterrence and achieving peace through strength," which includes "calling on allies to increase defense spending and other efforts related to our collective defense."
In turn, a US defense official stated that the "main topic" of negotiations with allies was to "intensify and accelerate efforts to strengthen deterrence in a balanced and fair manner."
We do not seek war. Nor do we seek to dominate China itself. We want to ensure that the United States and its allies have the military power to ensure diplomacy and guarantee peace.
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It is indicated that the negotiations include efforts aimed at persuading allies to increase defense spending amid growing concerns about China's threat to Taiwan, "but the request for commitments related to a war over the island is a new demand from the US."
Specific operational planning and training that have direct application to the contingency in Taiwan are moving forward with Japan and Australia. But this request caught Tokyo and Canberra by surprise, as the US itself does not give Taiwan a "blank check guarantee."
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defense of Japan stated that it is "difficult to answer a hypothetical question about a 'Taiwan emergency'." They noted that any response "will be implemented on an individual and specific basis in accordance with the constitution, international law, and domestic laws and regulations."
Context
Taiwan stated that China increased military pressure in the region in May, deploying dozens of warships and government vessels daily as part of an "extreme pressure campaign."
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegset called on partners in Asia to increase defense spending to 5% of gross domestic product, warning that more urgent preparation is needed for a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan.