BANGKOK — At the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore last week, United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pressed America’s Asian allies to spend 3.5 percent of their gross domestic product (GDP) on defense, fueling anxiety across the region and beyond. His browbeating call to arms may well bring about a regional defense buildup on a scale unseen since the Cold War’s end.

Such an outcome will actually do little to bolster regional security or address US defense concerns. For one thing, China may very well respond in kind, thus delivering limited to no benefits from the increased spending.

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