This photo shows Elbridge Colby, then the nominee for under secretary of defense for policy, attending his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 4, 2025. (Getty Images)
This photo shows Elbridge Colby, then the nominee for under secretary of defense for policy, attending his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 4, 2025. (Getty Images)

A senior Pentagon official on Thursday called on Asian allies to contribute and be ready to share the burden of "collective defense," reiterating President Donald Trump's pursuit of "peace through strength," as Washington prioritizes deterring an increasingly assertive China.

Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby made the remarks in a social media post on the eve of the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.

"The lesson here too is clear: We all must contribute and be ready to shoulder the burden of collective defense," Colby wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

"Pacifism is not the answer. To the contrary, peace through strength is. That is the policy we are carrying to our allies in the Asia-Pacific," he added.

Collective defense refers to an arrangement under which multiple nations agree to regard an attack on one member as an attack on all, calling for a joint response to that attack. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is a prime example of a collective defense institution.

Colby's remarks came as he leads the charge to craft the Pentagon's National Defense Strategy with a focus on increasing allies' "burden-sharing" and deterring threats posed by China. The first NDS draft is set to be presented to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth no later than Aug. 31.

Commenting on the anniversary, the under secretary also underscored the need for American forces to safeguard key US interests in Asia.

"The lesson of the war is clear: Our military must be ready to fight and defeat aggression against our key interests, especially in Asia. And we must have the industrial base to back that up," he said.

"Under President Trump and Secretary Hegseth's leadership, that is the standard we are laser-focused on meeting."

The defense burden-sharing issue is expected to figure prominently in the upcoming summit between South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Trump, which is slated to take place at the White House on Aug. 25.

Another agenda item is expected to be a joint effort to shape a shared understanding on "strategic flexibility" of the 28,500-strong US Forces Korea, as Washington is seen wanting to expand the scope and mission of USFK operations to focus more on addressing Chinese threats. (Yonhap)