Washington assures allies it will remain a reliable security partner in the region

As doubts grew on the reliability of the United States as a security ally in the Indo-Pacific region, a senior Pentagon official on Monday allayed fears that the US will not abandon the region.

US Undersecretary of War Elbridge Colby speaking at a Stratbase Institute forum in Manila on August 10, 2026. Official handout.

Manuel Mogato | August 10, 2026

MANILA — As doubts grew on the reliability of the United States as a security ally in the Indo-Pacific region, a senior Pentagon official on Monday allayed fears that the US will not abandon the region.

But US Undersecretary of War Elbridge Colby wanted its Indo-Pacific allies and partners to shoulder the responsibility in building deterrence in the region.

“America is definitely not disengaging from Asia,” Colby said ​in a speech during a visit to Manila, the first leg in his four-nation Southeast Asian swing. (Also read: Hegseth’s Burden-Sharing and Manila’s Balancing Act with Washington and Beijing)

“We are not leaving; in fact, we ​are digging in, to ensure a favourable balance of power where it matters most.”

Colby will also visit Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia after the Philippines, Washington’s former colony and longest security ally.

Colby said the US wanted to preserve a favorable balance of power ‌in ⁠the Indo-Pacific but it required a “posture of deterrence by denial along the First Island Chain”.

“When ​we ⁠ask our allies and partners to step up, to invest more in their own defence, and to take responsibility for their own sovereign ⁠security, ​we are not signaling abandonment,” Colby said. “We ​are looking for partners, not protectorates.”

Washington wanted its allies in Europe and in the Indo-Pacific region to raise defense spending to 3 percent of GDP to share the burden of defending the region.