Pentagon downplays China threat: What it means for US allies

"The major shift in the NDS lies in the shifting approach of the US Defense Department, which considers security of the homeland and Western Hemisphere its primary concern. The document noted that the US military would be guided by four central priorities: defend the homeland, push allies around the world away from reliance on the US military, strengthen defence industrial bases and deter China as opposed to a policy of containment."

"The United States no longer views China as a top security priority, according to the Pentagon's 2026 National Defense Strategy (NDS), as President Donald Trump's administration seeks to focus on the Western Hemisphere in a break from a decade of foreign policy that saw Beijing as the biggest threat to US security and economic interests. The strategy document says US allies and partners such as South Korea must shoulder their fair share of the burden of our collective defense."

"This is in line with Trump's rhetoric calling on US allies in Europe and the Asia Pacific to step up and boost their defences to counter security threats from Russia and North Korea. list of 4 itemsend of list Released late on Friday, the 34-page Department of Defense blueprint comes weeks after the announcement of Trump's National Security Strategy, which seeks to restore American preeminence in the Western Hemisphere by reinforcing the Monroe Doctrine, a 19th-century US policy opposed to European colonisation and interference in the Americas."

The 2026 National Defense Strategy refocuses the US military on defending the homeland and the Western Hemisphere as primary concerns. The strategy lists four central priorities: defend the homeland, push allies to reduce reliance on US forces, strengthen defense industrial bases, and deter China rather than pursue containment. The document directs that relations with China be approached through strength, not confrontation. The strategy calls on allies and partners, including South Korea, to shoulder a larger share of collective defense burdens. The approach aligns with a reinvigorated Monroe Doctrine emphasis on American preeminence in the Americas.

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