President Donald Trump suggested repeatedly that he’d seek such a deal with Presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin. (AP pic)
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump floated the idea of a three-way meeting with the leaders of Russia and China in which the countries would agree to cut defence spending in half.
Trump, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday, suggested repeatedly that he’d seek such a deal with Presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, saying the money could be spent better elsewhere.
“One of the first meetings I want to have is with President Xi of China (and) President Putin of Russia,” Trump said. “And I want to say, ‘let’s cut our military budget in half.’ And we can do that. And I think we’ll be able to do it.”
The comments topped off another one of the free-wheeling press interactions that have become so common in the first weeks of Trump’s second term. Such deep cuts in defence spending would fundamentally reshape US military posture around the world and face sharp pushback from US contractors and lawmakers whose states benefit from billions of dollars in defence spending every year.
Trump’s views also underscored how willing he is to upend standard foreign-policy craft in Washington. He has made no secret of his desire for closer ties with Russia and China, two US adversaries. He sparked an uproar this week by having a phone call with Putin to start talks on ending the Ukraine war. US allies in Europe said any such talks must take place with Ukraine’s participation.
It’s also far from certain that China or Russia would agree to such cuts, given how US defence spending of about US$850 billion dwarfs their annual outlays. China was forecast to have spent about US$230 billion on defence in 2024 and is in the middle of a major military expansion. Russia’s 2024 defence budget has grown significantly since the start of war in Ukraine but was still about half that.
When asked about Trump’s remarks at a regular press briefing in Beijing on Friday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said “the limited national defence spending of China is what is needed to defend its national sovereignty, security and development interests, and what is needed to safeguard world peace.”
“We’re spending the money against each other, and we could spend that money for better purpose if we get along,” Trump said later on Thursday at a press conference with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “And I’ll tell you, I think that something like that will happen.”
Trump also suggested that Russia ought to be brought back into the Group of Seven, the world’s leading industrialised nations, which currently include the US, Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada, France and the UK. Russia was suspended from the group after it invaded Crimea in 2014, and formally left the group three years later.
“It still would be helpful to have Russia be a part of that mix,” Trump said. “And I think if they were, I don’t think you would have had the problem that you have.”
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