South China Morning Post
AsiaPac · 1 hrs ago
✦ 78◉ Centre
New Zealand tells US it lacks billions ‘under the couch’ to raise defence spending
78Quality
0Ratings
0Comments
AI Analysis
Quality 78/100
Partisan intensity 25/100
ObjectivePartisan
◉ Centre ✓ Fair headline
New Zealand's Finance Minister Nicola Willis has responded to US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth's criticism that New Zealand is not spending enough on defence, stating the country lacks the fiscal capacity to increase spending to the levels the US is advocating.
New Zealand tells US it lacks billions ‘under the couch’ to raise defence spending
New Zealand does not have the fiscal headroom to increase defence spending to the levels the US might expect, Finance Minister Nicola Willis said.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told delegates at an Asia security forum in Singapore on Saturday that New Zealand’s target of raising defence spending to 2 per cent of the economy is not enough and was an example of “freeloading”. He hinted that nations should aspire to a target as high as 3.5 per cent.
“That would be extremely challenging,” Willis
Discussion 0 comments
Sort:
?
No comments yet — be the first to start the discussion!