Defense Secretary Mark Esper wants U.S. allies in the Indo-Pacific to increase defense spending in order to contribute to a coalition of democratic allies that can counter threats from the Chinese Communist Party.
“This goes beyond NATO,” Esper said Tuesday at the Atlantic Council. “We expect all allies to invest more in defense — at least 2% of GDP as the floor. We also expect them to be ready, capable, and willing to deploy when trouble calls.”
Esper issued that call in the context of an increased focus on cooperation between democracies in the Indo-Pacific region, highlighted by a recent ministerial featuring Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the top diplomats from Japan, India, and Australia. And that quartet of countries, known as the Quad, plans to conduct naval drills together in November, following India’s decision this week to invite the Australians into the exercises.
“We have shared values that are being aggressed against, so I think it’s a very good development that we’re doing this and that we would be exercising together,” he said of the naval drills during a question-and-answer session following his speech.
Australian officials hailed the invitation from New Delhi as a sign of “deep trust” within the Quad. “High-end military exercises like MALABAR are key to enhancing Australia’s maritime capabilities, building interoperability with our close partners, and demonstrating our collective resolve to support an open and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Australian Defense Minister Linda Reynolds said Monday. “Exercise MALABAR also showcases the deep trust between four major Indo-Pacific democracies and their shared will to work together on common security interests.”
Chinese officials regard the Quad as a “mini-NATO,” but they issued a mild response to India’s expansion of the naval exercises.
“We have taken note of this development,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said. “We always believe military co-operation between countries should be conducive to regional peace and stability.”
Esper said alliance networks can no longer be focused on “regional priorities and interests” due to the pressures of global competition with China.
“We expect them to stand shoulder to shoulder with the United States in confronting Chinese bad behavior and Russian aggression,” he said in his prepared address. “To overcome the increasingly complex threats in the 21st century and defend our shared values, there can be no free riders to our common security.”
