In May, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told U.S. allies in Asia that Washington wanted stronger militaries around it, not countries relying primarily on American protection.
“We need partners, not protectorates,” Hegseth said at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.
Three months later, South Korea and Taiwan are taking new steps to add military capability while the Iran War competes for U.S. resources.
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South Korea could receive AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles as part of a possible $125 million weapons sale approved by the State Department. In Taiwan, lawmakers have approved a military drone funding framework that would allocate NT$240 billion over six years.
Neither move can be attributed simply to U.S. pressure or the Iran conflict. South Korea continues to prepare for threats from North Korea, while Taiwan is building defenses against China.
But the new spending comes amid an American shift of military assets away from the region.
South Korea adds missiles as exercises shrink
The proposed South Korea sale drew an immediate response from Pyongyang.
North Korea condemned the proposed sale Thursday and warned of a forceful response to U.S. actions it considers hostile.
Meanwhile, Washington has reduced one major exercise with South Korea and canceled another.
President Donald Trump ordered Ulchi Freedom Shield scaled back this month. The allies shortened the exercise from 11 days to five and reduced some field training. Trump cited the cost, his relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Seoul’s refusal to participate in the Iran conflict.
The Iran War had a clearer effect on Ssangyong. Seoul said the Marine Corps notified its South Korean counterpart in June that other commitments had limited the U.S. forces available for the amphibious exercise. The drill was ultimately called off.
The two decisions have different causes, but together they come as Seoul continues buying American weapons while Washington presses its allies to become more capable on their own.
Taiwan puts billions toward drones
Taiwan is taking a different route.
Lawmakers instead chose an opposition plan built around NT$40 billion in annual drone spending for six years. The vote sidelined a separate NT$210 billion special budget sought by the government.
That government proposal covered a program of roughly 210,000 drones running through 2031.
Taipei cited battlefield experience from Ukraine and Iran in arguing for a larger role for drones in national defense.
The island’s broader goal is to strengthen its ability to defend itself against China while expanding its domestic drone and unmanned-systems industry.
Iran pulls US resources from the Pacific
Hegseth also addressed concerns about competing U.S. priorities when he spoke in Singapore.
“We can do two things at one time,” he said when asked whether the Iran conflict could distract Washington from Asia.
Since then, Iran has affected at least some U.S. military decisions in the Pacific.
Beyond the canceled Marine exercise, the Navy has shifted its Japan-based carrier from the western Pacific to the Middle East.
The USS George Washington is now operating in the Middle East after relieving the USS Abraham Lincoln, whose deployment was extended while it supported operations against Iran.
The Lincoln has since departed the region and begun its journey back to San Diego after an unusually long deployment.
More allies buying from the same production base
That pressure extends beyond ships and troops.
The Pentagon is pouring money into increased weapons production to replenish American inventories and meet orders from overseas partners.
A new Navy agreement gives Raytheon $22.9 billion over seven years to expand Tomahawk missile production. The company currently turns out about 60 of the missiles annually. That figure could eventually exceed 1,000 under the new deal.
Other Pentagon production deals this month cover parts used in Patriot and THAAD interceptors.
The same production challenge extends to the AIM-9X missiles South Korea wants to buy.
A separate $1.1 billion Navy award announced in June will fund another round of AIM-9X production for both American and overseas customers.
Raytheon says its expansion plans would enable it to produce 2,500 missiles annually.
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