As Pete Hegseth reshapes the US military into a hyper-masculine zone of ‘warfighters’, we should ask if this is really who we want to be ‘good friends’ with

The US has again demanded its allies step up their military budgets at a high-level international defence meeting in Singapore.

In response to Hegseth’s call, participants at the Singapore forum say defence spending levels have to factor in different countries’ needs.

As Pete Hegseth reshapes the US military into a hyper-masculine zone of ‘warfighters’, we should ask if this is really who we want to be ‘good friends’ with

Washington wants allies to spend more on defense, while Beijing judges Australia by what it does, not what it says. Canberra needs to take stock of its own interests.