US urges Asian allies to spend more on defence, says it is staying put

A senior Pentagon official on Monday urged US allies in Asia to spend more on their own defence and help deter aggression in the region, while stressing that Washington remains committed to Asia. Speaking at a forum in the Philippines, Elbridge Colby said the United States wanted relationships based on equal partnerships. Colby, an undersecretary of defence and the Pentagon’s top policy adviser, said the US was not pulling back from Asia despite its current focus on the Iran war and the Middle East. He said Washington would continue to strengthen its role in the region and work with allies…