SINGAPORE: US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth took another swipe at Washington’s NATO and European partners on Saturday, saying those who do not increase defense spending enough “will face a clear shift in how we do business.”NATO members pledged last year to increase defense-related spending to 5% of gross domestic product, but despite increased efforts, many countries say they may not be able to achieve that goal.“For too long, polite pleas from our European allies to spend more on their own defense have fallen on deaf ears,” the Pentagon chief said at a defense summit in Singapore.“They are finally playing catch-up,” Hegseth said in a speech at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue conference.“Allies who refuse to step in and pull their weight for our collective defense will face a distinct shift in how we do business.”Secretary of State Marco Rubio said this month that NATO faces reductions in US forces in Europe while Washington focuses on other threats and European countries bolster their defenses.In Asia, Hegseth stressed that the region’s security “depends disproportionately on US military power, while many of our allies and partners have allowed their defense capabilities to deteriorate.”
Many countries in the Asia-Pacific region are already making progress, Hegseth said, using South Korea as a particular example.“South Korea has continually invested in its own defense, because it does not have the luxury of treating war like an academic exercise.“They live on the front lines, so they are building a real fighting force.”He added that this “simply reflects a clear understanding of the threat environment.”Hegseth also praised the spending policies of other countries including Australia, the Philippines and Japan.“You don’t have a strong alliance unless everyone has a stake in the game. There’s no free loading,” Hegseth said.Hegseth agreed when a New Zealand delegate asked him whether he viewed the Pacific island nation’s plan to increase defense spending from 1 to 2 percent as “free riding.”“To be honest, 2% is not enough, so 2% is a free load.“I don’t have anything against New Zealand, (but) I want partners to get involved,” Hegseth said.