US Tells Asian Allies to Spend 3.5 Percent of Output on Defense

The Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia's main annual security forum, ended in Singapore with two issues dominating the agenda, defense budgets and how firmly each country will commit to regional security, the South China Morning Post reported.

United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth set the priorities, calling on allies to raise military spending to 3.5 percent of gross domestic product and declaring that "the era of the United States subsidizing the defense of wealthy nations is over." He praised South Korea's pledge to reach that level, the Philippines for a 12 percent increase, and Japan and Australia for deepening cooperation, while warning that allies who "free-ride" will face a different relationship with Washington.

Al Jazeera noted that Hegseth's framing fits a broader US position that pairs demands for higher allied spending with a more transactional view of alliances. He justified the push by pointing to what he called China's historic military buildup and "rightful alarm" across the Asia-Pacific.

The message comes as Asian rearmament is already accelerating, with Japan moving to export missiles and neighbors expanding their fleets. Sustained increases on this scale reshape national budgets and order volumes for defense manufacturers across the region.