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The Pentagon is reportedly putting pressure on Indo-Pacific ally Japan and Australia to clarify what role it will play in the event of a war with China over Taiwan.
Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon policy director, raised questions at a recent meeting with Japanese and Australian defense officials, the Financial Times first reported.
The US has long urged Indo-Pacific allies to increase defensive spending as China escalates military operations around Taiwan, but this push for a specific wartime commitment is a new development, and reportedly caught foreign officials off guard.
Australia responded by emphasizing that it would not violate the military prior to the conflict.
Taiwanese envoys urge parliament to act and warn of rising Chinese threats after meeting lawmakers
Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon’s policy director, raised questions at a recent meeting with Japanese and Australian defense officials (Chip Somodevila/Getty Images)
“The decision to entrust Australian troops to conflict will be made not beforehand, but by the government at the time,” Defense Minister Pat Conroy told Australian Broadcasting Company. “We won’t discuss the hypothesis.”
Australia and the US are currently leading major joint exercises in Sydney, involving 30,000 troops from 19 countries.
Pentagon officials cite NATO’s efforts to increase European defence spending as a model for what Asian allies should consider. At the same time, Colby advised European allies to prioritize threats close to their homes, rather than focusing on the Indo-Pacific, sources told Fox News Digital.
“Some of our allies may not welcome Frank’s conversation,” Colby posted an X in response to the report.
“However, as the sectors are rich and consistently clear, DoD focuses on implementing the President’s America’s first, common sense agenda of restoring deterrence and achieving peace through strength.
Colby’s China-centric Pentagon Playbook Freezes Ukrainian Arms
The issue of the alliance’s commitment is further complicated by the US policy of strategic ambiguity, under which it does not expressly state whether Washington will defend Taiwan in the event of China invasion.
“As Secretary Hegses said, the Department of Defense is focusing on preventing war with a strong shield of deterrence,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell wrote about the X, defending Colby’s approach. “It takes strength, but it’s a simple fact that our allies must also play their part. We don’t want war. What we do is ensure that the United States and its allies take on diplomacy and have the military power to ensure peace.”
Former President Joe Biden has repeatedly said that the US will defend Taiwan, but White House staff will only return those comments later, claiming that US policies have not changed.
President Donald Trump has maintained his tradition of ambiguity and refused to publicly declare how he will respond. However, the new audio acquired by CNN revealed that Trump said last year he told him he had threatened both Russia and China with military force.
Japanese Defense Minister General Nakatani and US Secretary of Defense Pete Heggs will review Tokyo’s Honorary Guards. The US has asked Japan to clarify how it will support a potential conflict with China. (Kiyoshi Ota/Getty Images)
“I said with Putin, “If you’re going to Ukraine, I’ll bomb it [expletive] From Moscow, Trump said. “I’m telling you. I have no choice.” Then. [Putin] Go like, “I don’t believe in you.” But he believed in me 10%. ”
“I said the same thing [Xi]”Trump added: “I said, “If you go to Taiwan, I’ll bomb it.” [expletive] From Beijing. “I have no choice. I have to bomb you.”
Trump also criticized the costs of defending Taiwan, claiming that the island should devote 10% of its budget to defense.
As South Korea does not allow American troops to launch combat operations from its territory, the war simulation suggests that Japan is the most important ally for the United States and Taiwan. Australia does not allow permanent foreign military bases, but the US is expanding its revolving presence at its Australian facilities.
“Japan is always important and when I say I’m critical, we can’t win war without them,” Mark Kang-Sian, a defense expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, who regularly explains Chinese lawmakers on wargames, told Fox News Digital.
“Their power is important, but our ability to use our bases in Japan is important,” he said, adding that other US bases in the Indo-Pacific, like Guam, are too far to serve as hubs.
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US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegses (R) will meet with Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marless (L) at the Pentagon in February. Australia refused to say how it would respond to a potential war with China. (Getty Images)
Whether Japan allows the United States to concentrate on its territory will be a critical issue that will certainly manifest itself in wartime contingent preparations.
The United States and Japan practice the movement down the chains of Japan’s Lukyu Island, the closest of which is only 80 miles away from Taiwan’s coast.
Colby’s push towards the role of a defined alliance follows his launch of a review of the Orcus Security Agreement, which aims to help Australia supply nuclear-powered submarines built in the US.
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The Pentagon recently defended Colby after reports were revealed that it had temporarily suspended military aid to Ukraine.
Under the Orcas Agreement, Australia will purchase several Virginia-class submarines in the early 2030s, but the new class submarines will be jointly developed by the US, UK and Australia. Production in Australia is expected to begin in the 2040s. However, the United States is already struggling to produce enough submarines for its navy.
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