Pentagon's defense strategy draft prioritizes US homeland protection over China threat: report

WASHINGTON — A draft of a new U.S. defense document prioritizes protecting the United States' homeland and Western Hemisphere, a report said Friday, a move away from its yearslong focus on deterring the "pacing threat" from an increasingly assertive China. Politico, a U.S. news outlet, reported, citing three people, that the draft of the Pentagon's National Defense Strategy (NDS) puts domestic and regional missions above countering China and Russia. The draft was sent to the desk of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last week, it said. The move would represent a major shift from recent U.S. administrations, including President Donald Trump's first administration, that focused on countering threats from America's top strategic rival, China, the outlet said, noting it could inflame "China hawks" in both Democratic and Republican parties. In May, Hegseth directed Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby, known as a supporter of a more isolationist policy approach, to draw up the Pentagon's 2025 NDS to prioritize raising "burden-sharing" with allies and deterring threats from ChiWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times