Why East Asian alliances matter for America

„Tables are about to suffer significant thumping in London: US President Donald Trump has made crystal clear his determination to wring more money out of European allies at the NATO summit, which kicks off today in the British capital.
He has a point. The state of many European militaries is pathetic, their defense spending paltry. Result? Over-reliance on US troops and assets.
Trump is expected to reiterate his July demand that NATO nations designate at least 2% of their budgets for defense. But Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of NATO, expects that only eight of NATO’s 29 members (including the US) will have reached that mark by the end of this year.
While this scenario plays out in London, a broader perspective suggests that the threat that US allies face in the Atlantic is weaker and more single-dimensional than the pressures mounting against US allies in the Pacific.“ (…)

https://www.asiatimes.com/2019/12/article/why-east-asian-alliances-matter-for-america/