Seoul: A senior Pentagon official redoubled calls Monday for Asian allies to "do more" for their own defense, citing South Korea as the most recent case of allied countries stepping up to meet a "new global standard" for defense spending. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby made the remarks in a social media post, as Seoul has committed to increasing defense spending to 3.5 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) as soon as possible in accordance with Korea's legal requirements.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Colby posted a series of messages on X, explaining a new U.S. National Security Strategy (NSS), which the White House released last week, reaffirming U.S. President Donald Trump's America First principles, and urging allies and partners to contribute "much more" to "collective defense." "Crucially, ensuring stability in the Indo-Pacific will require our Asian allies to do more for their own defense," he wrote.

The Pentagon official underlined the need for allies' defense contributions, as he cited part of the NSS that stated America's commitment to building a military capable of denying aggression anywhere in the First Island Chain, and that the U.S. military "cannot, and should not have to, do this alone." The First Island Chain is a strategic string of islands, including Japan, Taiwan, and the northern Philippines, which is seen as a key maritime perimeter for the U.S. to defend to maintain its preeminence against an increasingly assertive China.

In a separate post, Colby said that Trump's "global defense spending standard" is core to the NSS' logic of "burden-sharing" and "burden-shifting," as he referred to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members' commitment to spending 3.5 percent of GDP annually on core defense expenditures by 2035 as well as up to 1.5 percent of GDP on other security-related investments. "This historic accomplishment has already strengthened NATO, and it will allow the United States and its allies to achieve and maintain peace through strength around the world," he said.

"Already, others are stepping up to meet this new global standard -- most recently, the Republic of Korea," he added, referring to South Korea by its official name. Last month, Colby praised South Korea as the first non-NATO treaty ally to make the defense spending commitment, highlighting the Trump administration's desire to work with "partnerships" rather than "dependencies."

Released on Thursday, the new NSS laid out the Trump administration's priorities on defending the U.S. homeland, reasserting American power on the Western Hemisphere, deterring a conflict over Taiwan, and sharing security burdens with allies and partners, among others.