SYDNEY — Australia’s Prime Minister says his country will “determine our defense policy,” after U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth called for the country to lift defense spending to 3.5% of its gross domestic product, something that would require tens of billions of dollars of additional funding a year.
Hegseth met with Australia’s Minister of Defense Richard Marles on the sidelines of the Shangri La Dialogue in Singapore, where the U.S. defense chief characterized China as the region’s largest threat. He also called on Asian allies to spend more on their militaries, sparking pushback even as the U.S. administration makes aggressive tariffs threats against its trade partners.
