Washington– The Pentagon issued a change in priorities National Defense Strategy Late Friday, he criticized U.S. allies for taking control of their security and reaffirmed Trump administration focus On hegemony in the Western Hemisphere over the long-term goal of confronting China.
The 34-page document, the first since 2022, was too political for a military blueprint, and criticized partners from Europe to Asia for relying on previous US administrations to support their defense. He called for a “sharp shift – in approach, focus and tone”. This has translated into a frank assessment that allies will bear more of the burden vis-à-vis countries from Russia to North Korea.
“For too long, the United States government has neglected — even refused to — put Americans and their tangible interests first,” the opening sentence reads.
A. was crowned Runner week Between the administration of President Donald Trump and traditional allies such as Europe, Trump threatened to impose tariffs on some European partners to push for an attempt to acquire Greenland before announcing a deal that lowered the temperature.
While allies face what some see as a hostile stance on the part of the United States, they will certainly not be happy to see that Defense Department Pete Hegseth will present “credible options to ensure U.S. military and commercial access to key terrain,” especially Greenland and the Panama Canal.
After a scuffle this week at a World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland Canadian Prime Minister Mark CarneyThe strategy simultaneously urges cooperation with Canada and other neighboring countries while still issuing a stark warning.
“We will engage in good faith with our neighbours, from Canada to our partners in Central and South America, but we will ensure that they respect and play their part,” the document says. He added: “And where they do not, we will be prepared to take focused and decisive actions that materially advance American interests.”
It looks a lot like the White House The National Security Strategy that preceded itThe defense plan reinforces Trump’s “America First” philosophy, which favors non-interference abroad, questions decades of strategic relationships and prioritizes US interests. The National Defense Strategy was last published in 2022 under then-President Joe Biden, and focused on China as America’s “speed challenge.”
This strategy simultaneously seeks assistance from partners in America’s backyard, while warning them that the United States will “actively and fearlessly defend America’s interests throughout the Western Hemisphere.”
It specifically refers to access to the Panama Canal and Greenland. This comes just days after Trump announced that he had reached a “framework for a future agreement” on Arctic security with NATO leader Mark Rutte that would provide the United States with “full access” to Greenland, the territory of NATO ally Denmark.
Danish officials, who spoke Thursday on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive negotiations, say formal negotiations have not yet begun.
Trump had previously suggested that the United States should consider this Regain control of the Panama Canal and Panama was accused of ceding its influence to China. When asked this week whether US restoration of the canal was still on the table, Trump demurred.
“I don’t want to tell you that,” the president replied. “Kind of, I should say, kind of. That’s kind of on the table.”
The Pentagon also promoted the operation that ousted him Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro Earlier this month, he said: “All narco-terrorists should take this into consideration.”
The new policy document views China — which the Biden administration sees as a major adversary — as a stable power in the Indo-Pacific region that only needs to be deterred from dominating the United States or its allies.
The goal “is neither to control China, nor to stifle or humiliate it,” the document says. He later adds: “This does not require regime change or any other existential conflict.”
“President Trump seeks a stable peace, fair trade, and respectful relations with China,” the report said, following efforts to exit the trade war sparked by the administration’s high tariffs. It says it will “open a wider range of military-to-military communications” with the Chinese military.
At the same time, the strategy does not mention or include Taiwan, the self-governing island that Beijing claims as its own and says it will seize by force if necessary. The United States is obligated under its own laws to provide military support to Taiwan.
By contrast, the Biden administration’s 2022 strategy said the United States would “support Taiwan’s asymmetric self-defense.”
In another example of offloading regional security to the benefit of allies, the document says: “South Korea is able to bear the primary responsibility for deterring North Korea with decisive but limited American support.”
While the defense strategy says that “Russia will remain a persistent but manageable threat to NATO’s eastern members for the foreseeable future,” it emphasizes that NATO allies are much stronger and therefore “strongly positioned to assume primary responsibility for Europe’s conventional defense.”
She says the Pentagon will play a key role in NATO “even as we calibrate America’s force posture and activities in the European theater” to focus on priorities closer to home.
US It has already been confirmed It will reduce Presence of forces On NATO’s border with Ukraine, with the Allies Expressing concern The Trump administration may significantly reduce their numbers and leave a security vacuum as European countries confront an increasingly aggressive Russia.