TheUSmilitary will prioritize protecting the homeland and deterringChinawhile providing "more limited" support to allies inEuropeand elsewhere, aPentagonstrategy document released on Friday said.

The 2026 National Defense Strategy (NDS) marks a significant departure from past Pentagon policy, both in its emphasis on allies taking on increased burdens with less backing from Washington, and its softer tone on traditional foes China andRussia.

"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 strategy said.

Read moreTrump covets Greenland, insults allies and talks up US economy at Davos

The previous NDS -- released under PresidentDonald Trump's predecessorJoe Biden-- described China as Washington's most consequential challenge and said that Russia posed an "acute threat."

The new document however urges "respectful relations" withBeijing-- while making no mention of US allyTaiwan, which China claims as its territory -- and describing the threat from Russia as a "persistent but manageable" one affectingNATO'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.

The Trump 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 ourborders, repel forms of invasion, and deport illegal aliens," it said.

'Restore military dominance'

Biden meanwhile focused on China and Russia, saying they posed "more dangerous challenges to security and safety at home" than even the threat ofterrorism.

The 2026 NDS also includes no mention of the dangers ofclimate change-- which Biden's administration had identified as an "emerging threat."

Like Trump's national security strategy, which was released last month, the NDS elevatesLatin Americato 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 United States that Latin America was off limits to rival powers.

Since returning to office last year, Trump has repeatedly employed theUS militaryin Latin America, ordering a shocking raid that captured Venezuelan leaderNicolas Maduroand his wife, as well as strikes on more than 30 alleged drug-smuggling boats that have killed more than 100 people.

Trump's administration has provided no definitive evidence that the sunken vessels were involved indrug 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 United States.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

Originally published on France24