Pentagon pushes Asian allies to arm up as U.S. ‘digs in’ to deter war

A Pentagon official on Monday asked allies in Asia to invest more in their defense and help deter aggression in the region and said the United States remains committed to do the same with “partners, not protectorates.” Elbridge Colby, an undersecretary of defense, made the remarks at a forum in the Philippines, his first stop in Southeast Asia, where he will also visit Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia. He renewed Washington’s assurances that the U.S. is not backing away from Asia despite its current preoccupation with the Iran war and the Middle East. “America is definitely not disengaging from Asia —…