Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said President Donald Trump is set to make a “generational investment of $1.5 trillion on defence this year” as part of what he described as an “historic national manufacturing mobilisation of its defence industrial base”.
Hegseth urged US allies to allocate at least 3.5 percent of GDP to defence spending, warning that countries that fail to make stronger commitments “will face a clear shift in how we do business”.
“To those who believe they can continue to free ride on the generosity of the American taxpayer, hear us now – those days are over,” he said, adding that “this bold path is a matter of strategic necessity”.
The US official also stressed that Washington remains committed to its broader international security objectives, saying, “We still have global obligations to ensure that, say, Iran doesn’t get a nuclear weapon”.
