The US military would prioritize protecting its homeland and deterring China while providing “more limited” support to allies in Europe and elsewhere, a Pentagon strategy document released on Friday said. The document did not mention Taiwan.
The 2026 National Defense Strategy (NDS) marks a significant departure from past Pentagon policy in its emphasis on allies taking on increased burdens with less backing from Washington and its softer tone on traditional foes China and Russia.
“As US forces focus on homeland defense and the Indo-Pacific, our allies and partners elsewhere will take primary responsibility for their own defense with critical but more limited support from American forces,” the document said.
Photo: National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu’s X account
The previous NDS — released during then-US president Joe Biden’s tenure — described China as Washington’s most consequential challenge and said that Russia posed an “acute threat.”
The new document urges “respectful relations” with Beijing — while making no mention of Taiwan — and describing the threat from Russia as a “persistent but manageable” one affecting NATO’s eastern members.
Both the Biden and Trump strategies say homeland defense is important, but their descriptions of the threats facing the US differ significantly.
US President Donald Trump’s administration’s NDS takes aim at the past administration for neglecting border security, saying this led to a “flood of illegal aliens” and widespread narcotics trafficking.
“Border security is national security,” and the Pentagon “will therefore prioritize efforts to seal our borders, repel forms of invasion, and deport illegal aliens,” it said.
Meanwhile, Biden focused on China and Russia, saying they posed “more dangerous challenges to security and safety at home” than even the threat of terrorism.
The 2026 NDS also includes no mention of the dangers of climate change — which the Biden administration had identified as an “emerging threat.”
Like Trump’s national security strategy, which was released last month, the NDS elevates Latin America to the top of the US agenda.
The Pentagon “will restore American military dominance in the Western Hemisphere. We will use it to protect our Homeland and our access to key terrain throughout the region,” the NDS said.
The document called that the “Trump Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine,” a reference to the declaration two centuries ago by the then-young US that Latin America was off limits to rival powers.
Since returning to office last year, Trump has repeatedly employed the US military in Latin America, ordering a shocking raid that abducted Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife, as well as strikes on more than 30 alleged drug-smuggling boats that have killed more than 100 people.
The Trump administration has provided no definitive evidence that the sunken vessels were involved in drug trafficking, and international law experts and rights groups say the strikes likely amount to extrajudicial killings, as they have apparently targeted civilians who do not pose an immediate threat to the US.
NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT: An official said that Guan Guan’s comments had gone beyond the threshold of free speech, as she advocated for the destruction of the ROC China-born media influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China content that threatens national security, the National Immigration Agency said yesterday. Guan Guan has said many controversial things in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” while expressing hope for expedited “reunification.” The agency received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification last year. After investigating, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and account for her actions. Guan Guan appeared as required,
A strong cold air mass is expected to arrive tonight, bringing a change in weather and a drop in temperature, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The coldest time would be early on Thursday morning, with temperatures in some areas dipping as low as 8°C, it said. Daytime highs yesterday were 22°C to 24°C in northern and eastern Taiwan, and about 25°C to 28°C in the central and southern regions, it said. However, nighttime lows would dip to about 15°C to 16°C in central and northern Taiwan as well as the northeast, and 17°C to 19°C elsewhere, it said. Tropical Storm Nokaen, currently
‘NATO-PLUS’: ‘Our strategic partners in the Indo-Pacific are facing increasing aggression by the Chinese Communist Party,’ US Representative Rob Wittman said The US House of Representatives on Monday released its version of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which includes US$1.15 billion to support security cooperation with Taiwan. The omnibus act, covering US$1.2 trillion of spending, allocates US$1 billion for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative, as well as US$150 million for the replacement of defense articles and reimbursement of defense services provided to Taiwan. The fund allocations were based on the US National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2026 that was passed by the US Congress last month and authorized up to US$1 billion to the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency in support of the
PAPERS, PLEASE: The gang exploited the high value of the passports, selling them at inflated prices to Chinese buyers, who would treat them as ‘invisibility cloaks’ The Yilan District Court has handed four members of a syndicate prison terms ranging from one year and two months to two years and two months for their involvement in a scheme to purchase Taiwanese passports and resell them abroad at a massive markup. A Chinese human smuggling syndicate purchased Taiwanese passports through local criminal networks, exploiting the passports’ visa-free travel privileges to turn a profit of more than 20 times the original price, the court said. Such criminal organizations enable people to impersonate Taiwanese when entering and exiting Taiwan and other countries, undermining social order and the credibility of the nation’s
RSS