Pete Hegseth criticizes Europeans and calls for increased effort on defense

AA / Istanbul / Serap Dogansoy

The American Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth once again attacked the European allies of the United States this Saturday, accusing them of having “too long” ignored requests from Washington aimed at strengthening their military spending.

During a speech given at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, a major international conference devoted to security, the head of the Pentagon called on the Europeans to refrain from “moralizing”, on the contrary welcoming the pragmatism of Asian partners.

“When our interests converge, we act together with determination. When they diverge, we adapt pragmatically, without drama and without preaching. I think Western Europe could learn from this,” he declared.

Pete Hegseth also denounced what he called “empty globalist rhetoric” from European capitals “as they opened their borders and emptied their armies of substance.”

The American minister warned that “Europe and NATO have important decisions to make”, adding that new announcements would be made soon regarding the security of the continent.

These declarations come as the Trump administration wishes to reduce the American military presence in Europe and pushes European members of NATO to increase their defense capabilities.

For several years, Donald Trump has demanded that European allies take greater responsibility for their own security. Under pressure from Washington, NATO set itself last year a collective objective of military spending equivalent to 5% of the GDP of member states, a threshold still far from being reached by the majority of the countries concerned.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently told European allies that they should “learn to live with fewer American soldiers” on the continent.

In Singapore, Pete Hegseth also insisted on the strategic priority granted by Washington to the region indo-pacific in the face of China’s rise in military power.

The Pentagon chief said Asian countries had long understood that lasting partnerships were based above all on “the alignment of national interests” rather than on “idealistic values”.​​​​​​​