(LEAD) Ex-Trump official suggests need for U.S. force realignment to address China threat

A former Pentagon official indicated the need Monday for a U.S. military realignment to ensure that the United States can have its forces at a "decisive" point to address threats from China rather than "spreading" them all around the world. Elbridge Colby, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and force development during former President Donald Trump's first term, made the remarks at an event hosted by the Heritage Foundation in Wisconsin, where the Republican National Convention kicked off its four-day run. In an interview with Yonhap News Agency in May, he called for an overhaul of the 28,500-strong U.S. Forces Korea to make it "more relevant" to handling China-related contingencies rather than being held "hostage" to addressing North Korean threats. "You've got to concentrate the military force. And again, that's what the Biden administration is doing -- spreading our military all around so that it's not at the decisive point," Colby said. "This is pretty common sense. You have to hav e strength at the decisive point with the decisive opponent, which is China." Elbridge Colby, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and force development during the Donald Trump administration, speaks during an interview with Yonhap News Agency at his office in Washington, in this file photo taken May 6, 2024. (Yonhap) He also stressed the need to "prioritize" the Asia-Pacific. "I think in any case, we are going to have to have the military forces to command respect from China," he said. Colby defended Trump's America-first policy platform, underscoring that South Korea and other countries also prioritize their national interests. "In most other countries ... in Korea, they put Korean interests first. In India, they put their interests. In Poland, they put Polish interests first. Why should we be any different?," he said. "That doesn't mean we are going to be nasty or mean or aggressive or belligerent unnecessarily. In fact, I think in the platform, they talked about the importance of s trong alliances, but alliances that work for us too," he added. He was referring to a new Republican policy platform that GOP delegates are to endorse during the four-day convention that runs through Thursday. Colby's remarks came amid speculation that Trump, if reelected, could bring about a shift from President Joe Biden's foreign policy that has sought to reinvigorate a network of regional alliances and partnerships to confront shared challenges. Colby also criticized Biden's foreign policy, underscoring that policy should be practical and "mutually beneficial." "Foreign policy should not be a religion. President Biden's always talking about our alliances as sacred," he said. He added, "The idea that these arrangements with foreign countries are sacred is kind of misconstruing, and they should be common sense, and they should be mutually beneficial, obviously in a long-term way." Colby is currently principal and co-founder of the Marathon Initiative, a Washington-based research organization. He serve d as deputy assistant secretary of defense from 2017-2018. Source: Yonhap News Agency