A preliminary national defense strategy document circulated at the Pentagon in mid-March lists the prevention of a Chinese takeover of Taiwan and strengthening national security as top priorities, according to the Washington Post, which cited a document signed by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
A US official familiar with the guidelines told the Wall Street Journal that the preliminary recommendations appear not to have been implemented. The nine-page document contains a priority system for top Pentagon officials and a vision for the execution of tasks, the Washington Post reported.
The document is almost entirely a repetition of the conservative plan for the 2025 project of the Heritage Foundation, including the repetition of text sections from this document, the Washington Post stated.
The document states that “China is the only enduring threat” and the concept of how the Pentagon will build military forces and allocate resources to address perceived threats only considers a conflict with Beijing as a possible military confrontation.
To focus on the Pacific region, the US will put pressure on its allies in Europe, the Middle East and East Asia to spend more on defense and play a greater role in countering the threat from Russia, North Korea and Iran, the document said.
The Washington Post noted that the national defense strategy of 2022 of the previous administration had placed emphasis on alliances to counter the threat from Russia and called the allies “the greatest global strategic advantage”.
The document also emphasized that Washington will shift its focus from counter-terrorism against groups that have the capability and intention to attack the US to militant groups in the Middle East and Africa that destabilize the region but do not have international attack plans, signaling that the Pentagon will give less priority to such groups.
The guidelines direct the US military to participate more directly in the fight against illegal migration and drug trafficking, the document said.
The document was presented to the national security committees of the US Congress. Both Republicans and Democrats described the guidelines as confusing, a Congressional aide familiar with the document said, citing a contradiction between “we want American power and military dominance in the world” and “we want to be everywhere but also nowhere”.