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Colby says Asian allies must 'pull their weight' for 'sustainable' collective defense

Published: 16 Aug. 2025, 09:35 Updated: 17 Aug. 2025, 13:50

Elbridge Colby, U.S. under secretary of defense for policy, prepares for his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 4. [AFP/YONHAP]

A senior Pentagon official urged Asian and other allies on Friday to "pull their weight" to achieve "sustainable" collective defense as U.S. President Donald Trump's administration prioritizes deterring an increasingly assertive China.

U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby made the remarks in a social media post a day after he'd called on Asian allies to contribute and be ready to share the burden of collective defense while reiterating Trump's pursuit of "peace through strength."

"It's common sense that all allies, especially in Asia, need to pull their weight. That's how we get peace through strength and sustainable collective defense," Colby wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "Fortunately, many of our allies, led by Europe, get it: The route to sustained peace is everybody doing their part."

Collective defense refers to an arrangement under which multiple nations agree to regard an attack on one member as an attack on all, calling for a joint response to that attack. NATO is a prime example of a collective defense institution.

The defense burden-sharing issue is expected to figure prominently in the upcoming summit between President Lee Jae Myung and Trump, which is slated to take place at the White House on Aug. 25.

Expectations have persisted that the Trump administration might demand Seoul increase its defense spending as well as its share of the cost for stationing the 28,500-strong United States Forces Korea.

The Pentagon has said that Korea and other Asian allies are also subject to the "global standard" of spending 5 percent of their GDP on defense — a target that NATO members have committed to reaching by 2035.

Korea's defense budget this year stands at around 61.2 trillion won ($44.2 billion), which is about 2.32 percent of its GDP, according to Seoul's defense ministry.

Yonhap