Pentagon Official Says US Is 'Digging In' to Asia, Not Pulling Back
Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon's undersecretary of defense for policy, told an audience in Manila that Washington wants allies to spend more on their own defense as it looks to counter doubts about its staying power in the region.
A top Pentagon official said Monday that the United States has no plans to pull back from Asia, pushing back on doubts about America's commitment to the region even as he pressed allies to pay more for their own defense.
Elbridge Colby, the undersecretary of defense for policy, made the case in a speech to a Manila think tank, according to the South China Morning Post. "America is definitely not disengaging from Asia," Colby said. "We are not leaving; in fact, we are digging in, to ensure a favorable balance of power where it matters most."
Colby argued that keeping that balance of power in the Indo-Pacific means holding a strong military position along what he called the first island chain, a stretch of territory running from Japan down through Taiwan, the Philippines and Borneo, the Straits Times reported. He pointed to what he described as a growing US military commitment in the region as evidence Washington intends to stay.
A push for allies to pay more
Colby said the strategy cannot depend on American forces alone. He called on allies to invest more in their own militaries and take greater ownership of their security, according to the Straits Times.
"When we ask our allies and partners to step up, to invest more in their own defense, and to take responsibility for their own sovereign security, we are not signaling abandonment," Colby said, according to the outlet. "We are looking for partners, not protectorates."
He framed the request as a matter of shared strength rather than reduced US involvement. "When our partners are strong, deterrence is strong," he said.
The message echoed the same theme Colby struck earlier in his remarks, when he described the American goal in the region as "partnership, not dependency."
First stop on a regional tour
Colby delivered the speech in the Philippines, which the South China Morning Post noted is the oldest US treaty ally in Asia. The stop opens a tour through Southeast Asia that will also take him to Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia, according to both outlets.
The trip comes as the Pentagon works to reassure allies in the region who have raised questions about how reliable US security commitments will remain. Colby's remarks did not detail specific new deployments or funding commitments beyond the emphasis on burden-sharing.
Neither the South China Morning Post nor the Straits Times reported reaction from the Philippine government or other regional allies to Colby's remarks.
Sources
More from World
Typhoon Dolphin Floods Shanghai, Forces More Than a Million Evacuations in China
The storm made landfall in Zhejiang province with winds of 151 kph before weakening, but its rains set a 150-year record in Shanghai and grounded hundreds of flights as the system pushes north toward Beijing.
Fire Near Indonesia's Mount Bromo Put Out, but New Hotspots Flare Up
A blaze that burned through 550 hectares (1,360 acres) of Indonesia's Mount Bromo National Park has been put out, but officials say fresh fires have broken out near the volcano's famous caldera.
Western Europe Just Logged Its Hottest June and July on Record
The EU's Copernicus climate monitor says a record-breaking two months of heat has dried out soils, shrunk rivers and fueled wildfires from Albania to Spain, with 2026 now on track to challenge the hottest year ever measured.
Wildfire twice its size overnight forces 20,000 to flee in British Columbia
The fast-moving Bald Range Fire doubled in size overnight, prompting Premier David Eby to declare a provincial emergency as officials warned of 'explosive' conditions.