Seoul: A senior Pentagon official on Monday assessed President Lee Jae Myung's decision to increase defense spending and do more for its own defense as one based on a "clear-eyed and sage" understanding of the security environment. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby also said Seoul's move will help put the decades-long alliance with the United States on a "sound footing" over the long haul, as he is visiting South Korea to discuss the alliance modernization and other security-related issues.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Colby's visit follows the Pentagon's release of a new National Defense Strategy (NDS) last week, which assessed that South Korea is capable of taking "primary" responsibility to deter North Korea with "critical, but more limited" U.S. support. "President Lee's decision to increase defense spending to 3.5 percent ... and to assume greater responsibility for South Korea's conventional defense reflects a clear-eyed and sage understanding of how to address the security environment that we all face and how to put our storied and historic alliance on sound footing for the long haul," Colby said in a forum in Seoul.
The senior official acknowledged President Lee's vow to achieve self-reliant defense, committing 3.5 percent of its gross domestic product to this cause-a voluntary pledge in response to Washington's calls for allies to raise defense spending. U.S. officials, including Colby, have called South Korea a "model" ally, highlighting the country's proactive stance.
Colby emphasized how former President Trump stressed "shared responsibility rather than permanent dependency" for alliances, praising South Korea as a "great" country that has fully understood and acted upon this principle. This commitment was a key reason for selecting South Korea as the destination for his first international trip in this role, reaffirming the country's status as a model ally and expressing Washington's optimism about the adaptive alliance.
"Such adaptation, such clear-eyed realism about the situation that we face and the need for greater balance in the sharing of burdens will ensure that deterrence remains credible, sustainable and resilient in this changing world," he stated at the forum, which was organized by the Sejong Institute.
Addressing the broader Indo-Pacific region, Colby described it as a "primary center of gravity of global growth," highlighting that a favorable "balance of power" is vital to prevent any state from dominating this region. While emphasizing that U.S. defense policy does not focus on confrontation with China, Colby mentioned deterrence by denial along the First Island Chain, a key perimeter for America's regional preeminence against China.
"We are focused on building a military posture in the western Pacific that ensures that aggression along the First Island Chain is infeasible, that escalation is unattractive and that war is indeed irrational," he explained, noting that this strategy involves modernizing force posture across Japan, the Philippines, and the Korean Peninsula.
Colby arrived in South Korea on Sunday for a three-day visit, which includes discussions with key South Korean security officials, including the national security adviser as well as the foreign and defense ministers.