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US warns middle powers against relying on collective security strategy
Elbridge Colby said allies could waste time, money, and political capital, and described access to the US defense industrial base as a privilege rather than a right.
Just weeks before Chinese leader Xi Jinping is set to visit the White House, tensions between Washington and its regional allies have escalated after Elbridge Colby, the US undersecretary of defence for policy, urged partners in Manila to raise defence spending and align more closely with American priorities, according to SCMP Economy.
Colby’s remarks built on comments from mid-July that criticized a collective strategy focused on “middle powers,” arguing that it rests on what he called a faulty understanding of international relations.
Speaking in Manila on August 10, Colby warned that allies risk wasting valuable time, money, and political capital on what he described as a distraction, and he added that access to the US defence industrial base should be viewed as a privilege rather than a right, the outlet said.
The intervention has intensified debate among US allies on how to reduce dependence on Washington in a more transactional era without drifting toward Beijing’s orbit, SCMP Economy reported.