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At the Shangri-la Dialogue held in Singapore last week, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called on the Asia-Pacific nations to raise their defense spending to five percent of GDP.

- ALEX MAGNO

This is the same rate of spending of NATO member countries at the moment in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Hegseth's remarks must have invited quizzical looks from the Asian defense officials gathered for this security dialogue. Most of the nations in this region have a different appreciation of the security situation in the region.

Hegseth rhetorically asked his colleagues: "How can it make sense for countries in Europe to do that (raise military spending to five percent of GDP) while allies and partners in Asia spend far less in the face of a far more formidable threat from communist China, not to mention North Korea?"

He speaks from his rabbit hole. Most of the Asia-Pacific nations do not think a regional arms race is the proper response to simmering territorial disputes in this part of the world. These disputes include China's claim on Taiwan and on a large swathe of the South China Sea. Most view the Taiwan question as internal to China and most believe a sustainable arrangement could be worked out for the overlapping territorial claims in the South China Sea.

Despite huge investments in upgrading its navy and air force, China officially pegs its defense spending at 1.5 percent of GDP. Singapore caps its defense spending at three percent over the next decade. None of the Asia-Pacific countries spend anything close to the five percent of GDP Hegseth wants them to spend.