US bombshell hits PM's China trip
US Undersecretary of Defence Elbridge Colby said the US' position of 'achieving peace through strength' was 'abundantly and consistently clear,' and would include urging allies to 'step up their defence spending and other efforts related to our collective defence'.
This follows Mr Hegseth's call for Australia to boost immediately boost investment from 2 per cent to 3.5 per cent of GDP, about $40bn, significantly beyond Labor's current commitment to reach 2.33 per cent by 2033.
While Mr Colby, a noted China hawk, didn't name countries who are lagging on their funding commitments, he said the US would 'not be deterred'. Eldridge Colby's call comes as Australia has resisted calls from the US to increase spending. NewsWire/ Nikki Short Credit: News Corp Australia
'Of course, some among our allies might not welcome frank conversations. But many, now led by NATO after the historic Hague Summit, are seeing the urgent need to step up and are doing so,' he wrote on X.
'President Trump has shown the approach and the formula – and we will not be deterred from advancing his agenda.'
His comments follow reports in the Financial Times on Saturday that Mr Colby has been pushing Japanese and Australian defence officials on their response if China invaded Taiwan, an outcome US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said was an 'imminent' threat.
Quoting one US official, they told the UK publication that while the US does 'not seek war,' or to 'dominate China,' the US wants to ensure both it and its allies 'have the military strength to underwrite diplomacy and guarantee peace'.
Speaking to the ABC on Sunday, Acting Defence Minister Pat Conroy would not 'engage in hypotheticals' or 'disclose confidential discussions'.
'The sole power to commit Australia to war or to allow our territory to be used for a conflict is the elected government of the day,' he said.
'That is our position. Sovereignty will always be prioritised, and that will continue to be our position.' Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy addresses the National Press Club of Australia in Canberra. NewsWire / Martin Ollman Credit: News Corp Australia
Australia has repeatedly rebuffed calls from the US to boost defence spending, stating that the amount will be decided according to Australia's sovereign needs, which has in-turn put pressure on the alliance, and Anthony Albanese's attempts to secure a tariff exemption.
While politically, the Prime Minister is under increasing pressure to secure a meeting with Mr Trump, the leaders are set to have a face-to-face talk in early September during the Quad meeting in India.
This will also be the first in-person meeting between Mr Albanese and Mr Trump since the President's re-election in November, however the leaders have shared three phone calls.
Echoing comments made by Anthony Albanese, who is currently on a six-day diplomatic mission in China, Foreign Minister Penny Wong last week said that said Australia's security should not be defined 'simply in the terms of what China or the United States is doing in the regions'.
'Instead Australia will 'take our own approach to our relationships, to the rules and to this region that we share,' she said while attending the ASEAN Summit in Malaysia.
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