US demands to know what allies would do in event of war over Taiwan

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The Pentagon presses Japan and Australia to clarify the role they will play if the United States and China went to war on Taiwan, in an effort that thwarted the most important American allies in the Indian Pacific Ocean.

Five people who are aware of the discussions said that Elbridge Colby, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Defense for policy, is paying the case in meetings with Japanese and Australian defense officials in recent months, five people said to be aware of discussions.

The batch is his latest effort to persuade allies in the Indian Pacific Ocean to enhance deterrence and prepare for a possible war on Taiwan.

After publishing, Colby wrote about X that the Pentagon was implementing president Donald Trump’s agenda of “restoring deterrence and achieving peace through power.” He said that this included “urging the allies to intensify their defensive spending and other efforts related to collective defense.”

A defensive official in the United States said that the “moving issue” of discussions with the allies is “intensifying efforts to enhance deterrence in a balanced and fair manner.”

“We are not seeking war. We are not seeking to control China itself. What we do is to ensure that the United States and its allies have military power to ensure diplomacy and ensure peace,” the US official added.

The talks include efforts to persuade the allies to raise defense spending amid increasing concern about China’s threat to Taiwan. But the request for war obligations on the island is a new request from the United States.

One of the people said: “The tangible operational planning and exercises that have a direct application to the Taiwan emergency are progressing with Japan and Australia.” “But this request was caught in Tokyo and Anbara by surprise because the United States itself does not give an empty guarantee to Taiwan.”

The United States has always had a “strategic ambiguity” policy, according to which it does not say whether it will defend the island. Former President Joe Biden on four occasions deviated from this, saying that the United States will enter. But Donald Trump chanted other presidents to refuse to say what he would do.

“It is very difficult to obtain allies to provide details about what they will do in the Taiwan conflict when they do not know either the context of the scenario or America’s response,” said Zach Cooper, an Asian expert at the American Institute.

“President Trump has not committed to defending Taiwan, so it is not realistic to the United States to insist on clear obligations from others.”

The batch targeted Japanese and Australian defense officials, not higher levels. Another person said that there is a “collective lifting of eyebrows” from the representatives in Japan, Australia and the other US allies.

“It is difficult to answer the virtual question of” the state of emergency in Taiwan, “said the Japanese Ministry of Defense.

The Australian Embassy in the United States was not suspended.

He pays Kulby to follow other actions that caused anxiety. The Financial Times reported last month that he was reviewing the AUKUS security deal, which would enable Canberra to buy nuclear -powered submarines.

Kulby also urged the European armies to reduce its focus on the Indian Pacific Ocean and focus more on the Atlantic region. FT also reported that Japan canceled a high -level ministerial meeting with the United States after Colbey suddenly increased the United States’ request for more defensive spending.

The Pentagon was forced to defend Colby in recent days after reports that he was responsible for the decision to prevent weapons to Ukraine, which the president was shortly canceled.

But the debate about Taiwan planning comes at a time when Tokyo and Kenbera feel pressure from Trump to enhance spending, which Kulby’s allies say it is very important given the increasing threat from China in the Indian Pacific region.

The American official said: “We come to our allies in the Indian Pacific Ocean, and we greatly resemble what the president did in Europe, and we say that this is the environment of threat.” “Some of them are clearly difficult, including defensive spending. But we believe that we will all leave us in a better place.”

The official said the administration was confident that Japan and Australia would strengthen defense spending more quickly than European allies.

“We do not think that it should not take 20 years. Not only because it is in our interests, but because it is in the interests of India and the Pacific also.”

The situation is particularly sensitive to Japan because payment for more spending – including one of Kulby who was publicly reprimanded by Prime Minister Shigro Ishiba – before the House of Representatives on July 20.

The official said that the United States understood that it should be sensitive to the political considerations of the allies.

The official said: “This is something that we all have to work in,” the official said. “It is difficult, but things must be more just and more fair to this work – which is what he must. For this reason we have leadership.”

The official said that the Pentagon had received “positive” indicators of high spending from Japan and Australia, but he stressed that “it is very important for all to see the results.”

Some allies believe that Kulby ignores their fear of stronger deterrence. The official said it was “clearly incorrect.”

He said: “We are investing huge amounts of time and energy to work with allies to find ways to face common challenges in ways that make us in a better position.”

Additional reports by Liu Lewis in Tokyo