Latest news with #USAllies
Globe and Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Australia warns against China military buildup as U.S. calls on Canberra to spend more
Australia's top defence official has called on China to provide more transparency around its 'extraordinary military buildup,' as Washington urged Canberra to increase its own military budget to counter Beijing. Speaking Sunday at the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual gathering in Singapore of top Asia-Pacific military officials, Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles said China had not provided other countries in the region any 'strategic reassurance' around the massive expansion of the People's Liberation Army in recent years. 'What we have seen from China is the single biggest increase in military capability and buildup in a conventional sense, by any country since the end of the Second World War,' Mr. Marles said. 'That is one of the key features of the complexity of the strategic landscape, which all of us face within the region and which is faced around the world.' This is happening 'without a clear strategic intent on the part of China,' he said, adding Canberra and its allies want to see 'strategic transparency and strategic reassurance' from Beijing about why it needs to have 'such an extraordinary military buildup.' Opinion: Reversing a trade deficit with China is no simple matter – just ask Queen Victoria Mr. Marles's comments come as Australia, like many U.S. allies, is facing pressure from Washington to spend more militarily. In a statement Friday, the Pentagon said U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth had urged Canberra to 'increase its defence spending to 3.5 per cent of its GDP as soon as possible.' Australia has previously committed to spending upward of 2.3 per cent of its GDP on defence by 2033, and on Monday the country's Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, pushed back against Washington, saying 'what you should do in defence is decide what you need, your capability, and then provide for it.' 'That's what my government is doing,' he said. Speaking to reporters over the weekend, Mr. Marles said 'there are a lot of competing demands on public money,' but defended his government as having 'engaged in the biggest increase in defence spending in the history of peacetime Australia.' While the U.S. has taken a more isolationist role under President Donald Trump, particularly in Europe, where it has pulled back from supporting Ukraine and put pressure on partners to massively increase spending on their own defence, Mr. Hegseth has sought to reassure allies in Asia that Washington is still committed to confronting China. 'We do not seek conflict with Communist China. We will not instigate nor seek to subjugate or humiliate,' Mr. Hegseth said in a speech in Singapore. 'But we will not be pushed out of this critical region. And we will not let our allies and partners be subordinated and intimidated.' Opinion: Strengthening Canada's relationship with Taiwan is a crucial piece of our geopolitical puzzle Pointing to Chinese military expansion in the South China Sea and repeated threats to invade democratic Taiwan, Mr. Hegseth said there was no doubt Beijing 'seeks to become a hegemonic power in Asia.' 'We cannot look away, and we cannot ignore it. China's behaviour towards its neighbours and the world is a wake-up call,' he said. 'President Trump has also said that Communist China will not invade Taiwan on his watch. So, our goal is to prevent war, to make the costs too high, and peace the only option. And we will do this with a strong shield of deterrence, forged together with you – America's great allies and defence partners. Together, we will show what it means to execute peace through strength.' The Shangri-La Dialogue is typically an opportunity for the U.S. defence secretary to meet his Chinese counterpart, but Beijing kept a low profile at this year's event and Defence Minister Dong Jun did not attend in person. China's reasoning for this is unclear. While tensions have been high with Washington under Mr. Trump, Beijing has also recently renewed a crackdown on corruption at the top ranks of the PLA, with several top military officials indicted or disappearing from view in recent months. A spokesman for the Chinese military, Zhang Xiaogang, did respond to Mr. Hegseth's speech Sunday, saying the U.S. official's remarks were 'filled with deeply ingrained hegemonic logic, bullying behaviour, and Cold War mentality.' 'China has always been a guardian and promoter of peace and development in the Asia-Pacific region,' Mr. Zhang added. 'The Chinese military will work together with regional countries to jointly oppose hegemonism that harms the Asia-Pacific, to oppose the introduction of geopolitical conflicts into the Asia-Pacific, and resist any country or force creating chaos.'
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
South Korea's presidential election set to reshape key policies
South Korean liberal candidate Lee Jae-myung is projected to win next week's snap presidential election, a result that could reorient a major U.S. ally on policies ranging from China to nuclear weapons and North Korea. Gabe Singer reports.
ABC News
4 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
Richard Marles warns Australia cannot rely on US alone to counter Chinese military build-up
Defence Minister Richard Marles says Australia cannot rely on the United States alone to counter China's military strength in the Indo-Pacific, as his US counterpart insists America's regional allies should contribute more to their own defence. Mr Marles, speaking at a global security conference in Singapore, warned China had embarked on the largest conventional military build-up since World War II, and was "doing so without providing any strategic transparency or reassurance". "This remains a defining feature of the strategic complexity that the Indo-Pacific and the world faces today," he said on Saturday. His comments followed assurances from US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth that the Trump administration would not abandon allies in the Indo-Pacific to military and economic pressure from China. In a keynote speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue hosted by the International Institute for Security Studies, Mr Hegseth vowed the US would bolster its defences overseas in response to Beijing's actions. But he also stressed the need for America's allies and partners to increase their own defence spending and preparations, saying the US was not interested in going it alone in the region. "Ultimately a strong, resolute and capable network of allies and partners is our key strategic advantage," he said. Speaking later in the morning, Mr Marles told the conference Mr Hegseth's comments emphasising the US's commitment to the Indo-Pacific were "deeply welcome". "The reality is that there is no effective balance of power in this region absent the United States," he said. "But we cannot leave this to the US alone. "Other countries must contribute to this balance as well, including Australia." He said Australia was increasing its own defence spending "to contribute to an effective regional balance where no state concludes that force is a viable way to achieve strategic goals". Australia is currently on track to reach defence spending levels of 2.33 per cent of GDP by 2033-34, up from its current level of 2.02 per cent. But the Trump administration has pressured Australia's government to lift its spending to at least 3 per cent of GDP, including at a face-to-face meeting between Mr Hegseth and Mr Marles on Friday. Mr Marles later told the ABC's Afternoon Briefing that Australia understood why the US was asking allies to spend more on their defence. "What I made clear is that this is a conversation that we are very willing to have — and it is one that we are having, having already made very significant steps in the past," he said. Mr Hegseth, a former military officer and Fox News host, used his first appearance at the Shangri-La Dialogue to highlight what the Pentagon sees as the rapidly developing threat posed by China, particularly its stance towards Taiwan. China views Taiwan as its own territory, and has pledged to bring the island under Beijing's control, including through the use of force if necessary. In some of his strongest comments on the issue since he took office in January, Mr Hegseth said recent increases in the intensity of Chinese war games around Taiwan showed Beijing was "rehearsing for the real deal". "It has to be clear to all that Beijing is credibly preparing to potentially use military force to alter the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific." However, he said any attempt by China to conquer Taiwan "would result in devastating consequences for the Indo-Pacific and the world", and repeated US President Donald Trump's assertion that China will not invade Taiwan on the president's watch. US Democratic senator Tammy Duckworth, who is co-leading a bipartisan delegation to the summit in Singapore, said it was noteworthy that Mr Hegseth had emphasised the US's commitment to the region, but his language on allies was not helpful. "I thought it was patronising of our friends in the Indo-Pacific in particular," Senator Duckworth said. Mr Marles also used Saturday's address to call for a revitalisation of the world's approach to strategic arms control, citing Russia's suspension of its participation in the New START treaty and China's decision to expand and modernise its nuclear arsenal to be on par with that of the United States. The deputy PM said future arms control treaties would need to move beyond simply restricting the numbers and types of warheads a country could have. "New technologies like cyber [warfare], the weaponisation of space, and the ability to integrate nuclear weapons with autonomous systems means traditional arms control frameworks are being surpassed without any established method of control to supplement them," he said. Mr Marles also warned that "another wave of global nuclear proliferation" could be imminent, as countries threatened by the "renewed imperial ambition" of larger powers sought security on their own terms. "In a profound abrogation of its responsibilities as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, Russia has threatened to use nuclear weapons in its war of conquest in Eastern Europe," he said. "Not only does this work against states disarming their own nuclear arsenals, as Ukraine responsibly did in 1994, the war is prompting some frontier states most exposed to Russian aggression to consider their options." Russia's strategic partnership with North Korea — which may include the transfer of nuclear weapons technology — and Iran's nuclear program are also acting as destabilising forces that could spark new proliferation cycles in Europe and Asia, Mr Marles said. "The arms control regime that we knew was a foundational component of an oft-maligned concept — the international rules-based order," he said. "Arms control must be seen as a necessary but not sufficient feature of a broader strategic order that we must build anew, an order defined as much by rules and norms as it is by power." ABC/Wires
Fox News
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
GOP lawmaker blasts 'dumb' Trump comment on Zelenskyy despite 'perfect' criticism of Putin
A House Republican sharply criticized comments President Donald Trump made regarding the Russia-Ukraine war, flatly calling some of them "dumb." In a Truth Social post, Trump first called out Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying the foreign leader "has gone absolutely CRAZY!" and is "needlessly killing" — but then the president pivoted to slam Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, declaring, "Everything out of his mouth causes problems, I don't like it, and it better stop." In a statement to Fox News, Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., opined, "The first half of this message is perfect, the rest is dumb. Trump is attacking President Zelensky while Putin bombs Ukrainian cities and it is misguided. Moral ambiguity while one nation invades another is hurting Trump's credibility. Putin is making a mockery of Trump, and Trump keeps attacking Zelensky." Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment but did not receive a response by publication time. Bacon, an outspoken supporter of Ukraine, has asserted that the U.S. and "Allies must arm Ukraine to the teeth," slap Russia with maximum sanctions and seize Russian assets. "It is a time for honesty. Peace talks are having zero effect on Putin. His goal is to dominate Ukraine & he won't stop until he realizes he cannot win. The U.S. & Allies must arm Ukraine to the teeth, sanction Russia to the max, & confiscate the $300B in overseas Russian assets," Bacon posted Sunday morning. Zelenskyy discussed Russian attacks in a Monday post on X. "Our air defense forces and rescuers were working all night. The Russian army launched the largest number of drones against our cities and communities since the beginning of the full-scale war — 355 attack UAVs, mostly 'Shaheds.' There were also 9 cruise missiles. Sadly, there are injured people and damage to civilian infrastructure," Zelenskyy noted in the Monday post. "Like any criminal, Russia can only be constrained by force. Only through strength — the strength of the United States, of Europe, of all nations that value life — can these attacks be stopped and real peace achieved," he declared.
Bloomberg
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
G-7 Finance Ministers Aim to Avoid Public Spats With US Despite Trade Turmoil
Save When Germany's Angela Merkel was photographed at the 2018 Group of Seven meeting, surrounded by others and leaning over a cross-armed Donald Trump, the image was seen as a public display of world leaders pushing back against a disruptive US president. As Canada hosts the G-7 meetings again, US allies broadly agree: they don't want to recreate that moment. They'll make every effort to avoid public confrontations with US officials this time, even as the White House targets their countries with tariffs, worsening the global economic outlook.
