China should be considered the main threat to the United States, while containing Russia should be left to its allies in Europe, according to a directive from Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, The Washington Post reported.
The secret document, which was read by the publication, was sent out within the US defence establishment and is a temporary strategic manual on national defence with a set system of priorities for the US defence establishment leadership. In some places it repeats almost verbatim last year’s report by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank that participated in the development of the election programme for Trump’s second presidency. One of the authors of that report, Alexander Velez-Green, has taken a senior position at the Pentagon.
In the interim strategic guidance, US Defence Secretary Pete Hagseth names China as the only threat the department should focus on and a potential PRC invasion of Taiwan as the only key scenario.
The document calls for pressure on Taipei to significantly increase its defence spending. US President Donald Trump and his allies have criticised Taiwan for underinvesting in its own defence, urging the island to spend up to 10% of its GDP on armaments. The recommended proportion is significantly higher than the amounts the US and its allies spend on defence, the publication said.
The paper said the Pentagon would press allies in Europe, the Middle East and Asia to spend more on defence and take on containing Russia, North Korea and Iran.
The refocus on China involves increasing the US military presence in the region and a greater emphasis on weapons capable of hitting fortified and underground targets. The document also envisages strengthening the defence of US bases in the Indo-Pacific region, building strategic stockpiles and improving logistics, The Washington Post notes.
The Pentagon’s document has been provided to congressional national security committees. According to The Washington Post’s source, Hagseth’s proposals drew mixed reactions from both Republicans and Democrats.
The publication’s interlocutor noted that the manual was drafted under the influence of recommendations of conservative analysts, and added that the document simultaneously proposes to reduce the US military presence in most regions of the world, including the Middle East, but at the same time the Trump administration intends to continue active actions against the Houthis in Yemen and put pressure on Iran. “We want military dominance in the world and a presence everywhere, but at the same time nowhere,” The Washington Post’s source concluded.