The United States is working to ensure that if war with China comes, major Pacific allies are ready, according to a new report.
China has issued years of bellicose verbal barrages about invading Taiwan, leading Elbridge Colby, undersecretary of defense for policy, to push Japanese and Australian defense officials toward readiness, according to the Financial Times, which cited sources it did not name.
The “animating theme” of the talks has been “to intensify and accelerate efforts to strengthen deterrence in a balanced, equitable way,” the Financial Times quoted a U.S. official it did not name as saying.
“We do not seek war. Nor do we seek to dominate China itself. What we are doing is ensuring the United States and its allies have the military strength to underwrite diplomacy and guarantee peace,” the official said.
One request has been to increase defense spending.
“We are coming to our allies in the Indo-Pacific, very similar to what the president did in Europe, and saying this is the threat environment,” a U.S. official said. “Obviously, some of these are tough conversations, including on defense spending. But we think it will leave us all in a better place.”
The U.S. has publicly hedged what it would do if Taiwan was attacked. Former President Joe Biden indicated the U.S. would support Taiwan, but President Donald Trump has made no public comments.
America’s public uncertainty has led to similar positions by its allies.
The Japanese defense ministry said it was “difficult to answer the hypothetical question of a ‘Taiwan emergency.’”
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Australian defense industry minister Pat Conroy said any decision about defending Taiwan in a war “will be made by the government of the day.”
“That is our position,” he said. “We don’t engage in hypotheticals.”
Colby publicly said the U.S. believes increased defense spending can help achieve peace.
As the Department has made abundantly and consistently clear, we at DOD are focused on implementing the President’s America First, common sense agenda of restoring deterrence and achieving peace through strength. That includes by urging allies to step up their defense spending… https://t.co/vU3jnNhqSA
— Under Secretary of Defense Elbridge Colby (@USDPColby) July 12, 2025
“As the Department has made abundantly and consistently clear, we at DOD are focused on implementing the President’s America First, common sense agenda of restoring deterrence and achieving peace through strength,” Colby wrote in a post on X.
“That includes by urging allies to step up their defense spending and other efforts related to our collective defense. This has been a hallmark of President Trump’s strategy – in Asia as in Europe where it has already been tremendously successful,” he continued.
“Of course, some among our allies might not welcome frank conversations. But many, now led by NATO after the historic Hague Summit, are seeing the urgent need to step up and are doing so. President Trump has shown the approach and the formula – and we will not be deterred from advancing his agenda,” Colby said.
Japan’s support in a potential conflict with China would be vital, according to Fox News.
“Japan is always critical, and when I say critical, like we can’t win the war without them,” Mark Cancian, defense expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, remarked to the outlet.
“Their forces are important, but our ability to use our bases in Japan is critical,” he said.
Japan and the U.S. have practiced moving troops through the Ryukyu islands, which come as close as 80 miles to Taiwan.
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