US defence secretary praises Australia for ‘stepping up’ on defence spending
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth praised Australia for “stepping up” while chiding other Pacific allies for seeking a “free ride” and relying on the “generosity of American taxpayers”.
The United States and its allies are “moving from a model of dependency to a model of true partnership,” Hegseth said in his opening remarks at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Saturday.
“The era of the United States subsidizing the defense of rich nations is over,” he said.
The Trump administration has called on Australia to increase defense spending to 3.5 percent of GDP.
He praised Australia, as well as South Korea, Singapore, the Philippines and Japan, for increasing defense spending.
“Australia is stepping up,” he said.
“Together, we are expanding the rotational presence of U.S. forces and collaborating to ensure our defense industrial base can build and sustain the weapons needed for high-end warfare.
“We appreciate Australia’s investment in real combat power and its commitment to deeper integration with the US Joint Force.”
He also criticized Europe for ignoring “polite pleas” to “spend more on their own defence”.
“To those who believe they can continue to benefit from the generosity of American taxpayers, hear us out now; those days are over,” he said.
“Allies who refuse to step up and pull their own weight in our common defense will face a clear shift in the way we do business.
“President Trump believes that countries that help themselves should be helped. The US War Department thinks the same way.”
Meanwhile, Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, in his speech at the conference, said that the seabed has turned into a “battlefield” after a series of attacks on submarine infrastructure and cables.
He said the fiber optic submarine cable connecting Helsinki and Tallinn was cut earlier this year.
“It is noteworthy that many cables have been broken along the Baltic and Taiwan Strait since November 2024,” he said.
“Maybe these were accidents, but even so, it highlights the fragility of this important part of the world’s infrastructure.”
“If they are intentional, we need to ask: Are countries testing our response times, attribution thresholds, and political will to respond?”
Marles met with Hegseth and his Japanese counterpart Shinjirō Koizumi at the Shangri-La Dialogue.
The government announced on Saturday it had signed a contract with Lockheed Martin Australia to produce key guided weapons components in Australia. The government said the value of the contract was $120 million.
