Pentagon chief points out 'new standard' for Asian, other allies' defense spending
Published: 19 Jun. 2025, 09:56
![U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on June 18. [REUTERS/YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/06/19/af04dba4-b279-4329-b82a-44da75c7f188.jpg)
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on June 18. [REUTERS/YONHAP]
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth highlighted a "new standard" for Asian and other allies' defense spending on Wednesday, as he reiterated President Donald Trump's call for NATO members to raise defense spending to 5 percent of their GDP.
Hegseth made the remarks during a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, reiterating that the United States cannot want the allies' security "more than they do."
"At the NATO heads of state meeting next week, we expect NATO allies to commit to spending 5 percent of GDP on defense and defense-related investment in an almost inconceivable accomplishment. President Trump started that project in his first term," the secretary said.
"With NATO stepping up, we now have a new standard for allied defense spending that all of our allies around the world, including in Asia, should move to," he added.
Trump has demanded that NATO members spend 5 percent of their GDP on defense — much higher than the 2 percent guideline set by the leaders of the trans-Atlantic alliance in 2014.
The demand came amid speculation that Trump might call for a rise in South Korea's defense spending or its share of the cost for stationing the 28,500-strong U.S. Forces Korea, as his administration is prioritizing deterring an increasingly assertive China.
South Korea's defense spending stands at around 2.5 percent of its GDP.
During the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual defense forum in Singapore last month, Hegseth also called for Indo-Pacific allies to bolster their defense spending.
"It doesn't make sense for countries in Europe to do that, while key allies and partners in Asia spend less on defense in the face of an even more formidable threat, not to mention North Korea," he said at the forum, highlighting that NATO members are pledging to spend 5 percent of their GDP on defense.
At Wednesday's hearing, Hegseth reiterated that the Pentagon is executing a "common sense" agenda to achieve "peace through strength."
"As the president has rightly pointed out, it's only fair that our allies and partners do their part," he said. "We cannot want their security more than they do."
Yonhap
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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