2026年8月30日 美国东部时间下午6:44 / 福克斯新闻
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有报道称华盛顿可能会利用福克兰群岛向英国施压，迫使其履行北约防务承诺。对此，一名前五角大楼官员周日迅速予以驳斥，坚称美国在该群岛问题上的长期中立立场并未改变。
前五角大楼新闻秘书摩根·墨菲告诉福克斯新闻数字频道，尽管华盛顿在福克兰群岛主权问题上的立场并未改变，但他认为特朗普政府可能会就伦敦的军事预算施加巨大外交压力。
“你不能享受安全保障却不承担费用。这是搭便车行为，”墨菲说道，随后补充道：“朋友之间会提醒对方该付账了。施压就是问责。”
据《金融时报》报道，英国财政大臣约翰·希利预计将于10月提交其首次预算时宣布，英国将放弃到2030年将国防开支占国内生产总值（GDP）比例提升至3%的目标，这一消息引发了福克兰群岛争端升级。
美国核心盟友的国防大臣辞职，警告军方缺乏应对日益严峻威胁的资源
一名前五角大楼官员表示，美国在福克兰群岛问题上的立场并未改变，数十年来一直对其主权问题保持中立。(彼得·黑泽尔/盖蒂图片社)
据路透社报道，此次紧张局势升级之际，五角大楼正由负责政策的副国防部长埃尔布里奇·科尔比牵头，对美国在欧洲的驻军部署进行为期六个月的审查。
据美联社报道，随着华盛顿敦促欧洲盟友和加拿大为北约的常规防务承担更多责任，美国预计将继续发挥支持作用，包括提供核威慑力量。
“我们无法‘撤回对福克兰群岛主权的支持’，因为我们从来就没有过这种支持，”墨菲说道，“政策专家都清楚，英国报纸上未经证实的‘不排除任何选项’的传闻，和白宫的官方表态是两码事。”
墨菲表示，美国仍对福克兰群岛的主权问题保持中立，并继续承认英国对该群岛的行政管理权。
赫格斯瑟宣布对美国在欧洲驻军进行六个月审查，抨击北约盟友将部队置于“风险之中”
英国财政大臣约翰·希利预计将于10月提交其首次预算时宣布，英国将放弃到2030年将国防开支占国内生产总值（GDP）比例提升至3%的目标。(彼得·尼科尔斯/彭博社 via 路透社)
针对今年4月有报道称五角大楼内部邮件显示美国可能会重新审视其在该群岛问题上的立场，墨菲指出目前尚无确凿证据。
“我没有看到那封邮件。五角大楼也没有证实此事。随后发布的官方表态和我们现在的立场一致：对主权问题保持中立，承认英国的行政管理权，”墨菲说道。
“我已经不在白宫工作了，无法代表本届政府发表任何意见，但我可以说明，2013年福克兰群岛居民举行公投，其中99.8%的人选择留在英国，”他谈及福克兰群岛居民当年投票决定继续作为英国海外领地一事时说道。
不过，墨菲强调，华盛顿将保留其他外交选择，不会改变福克兰群岛的现状，并表示美国正在就防务义务问题向英国施压。
根据当前预测，到2030年英国国防开支将达到GDP的2.7%，预计英国将设定新的时间表，以在2035年前实现北约核心国防开支目标。
根据2025年海牙峰会宣言，北约盟友同意到2035年将每年国防和安全相关开支占GDP的比例提升至5%，其中至少3.5%用于核心国防需求，并提交年度计划，明确可靠路径以实现北约的能力目标。
特朗普的北约赌局见效，美大使列出仍需警惕的盟友
北约秘书长马克·吕特（右）和荷兰首相迪克·朔夫（左）于2025年6月25日在荷兰海牙举行的北约国家元首和政府首脑峰会上欢迎唐纳德·特朗普总统（中）。(杜尔松·艾代姆/阿纳多卢通讯社 via 盖蒂图片社)
“去年在海牙，他们签署了到2035年达到5%的协议，这登上了头条，但英国仍未锁定到2030年达到3%的目标，”墨菲说道，“我看着这座城市把条约当成了建议。朋友不会看着盟友违约。所以没错，要就军费数字向伦敦施压。”
他补充道：“这已成惯例：在公报里写上一个数字，然后就当作可选条款。他们签了承诺书，但仍在敷衍了事。”
墨菲将美国可能对伦敦施加的压力描述为“杠杆而非抛弃”，表示推动英国增加国防开支“符合美国和英国的最佳国家安全利益”。
“2014年威尔士峰会后，欧洲大多数国家都未能达到2%的指导标准，而美国一如既往地承担了大部分责任，”墨菲补充道。
“美国提供核保护伞、情报支持、工业基础和特殊关系……你可以通过调整预算的工具来施压，”他谈及华盛顿的施压方式时说道。
斯塔默面临“颠覆性”危机，英国国防大臣在高风险特朗普北约峰会前辞职
埃尔布里奇·科尔比是五角大楼负责政策的副国防部长，也是本届政府推动欧洲盟友承担更多北约常规防务负担的核心策划者。(奇普·萨莫德维奇/盖蒂图片社)
“总统公开施压。每年一次的海牙审查。要么在下次英国国防预算前敲定到2030年达到3%的目标，要么制定出到2035年核心防务开支达到3.5%的资金到位路径。特殊关系是一种特权，而非福利项目。”
“如果白宫愿意，可以动用关税，”墨菲警告道。
据天空新闻报道，一名英国政府发言人表示：“英国在北约中发挥着核心作用，正在加强欧洲各地的集体防务。我们是北约第三大国防开支国，也是唯一将核威慑力量纳入北约的欧洲北约成员国。”
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艾玛·巴西是福克斯新闻数字频道的突发新闻撰稿人。加入福克斯之前，她曾在《每日电讯报》工作，负责美国夜班团队，涉及外交、政治、新闻、体育和文化等多个版块。
Ex-Pentagon official urges US to ‘squeeze’ UK on defense amid Falklands furor
August 30, 2026 6:44pm EDT / Fox News
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A report that Washington could use the Falkland Islands to pressure Britain into meeting its NATO defense commitments drew a swift rebuttal Sunday from a former Pentagon official, who insisted the long-standing U.S. neutrality on the islands remains unchanged.
Morgan Murphy, a former press secretary in the War Department, told Fox News Digital that while Washington has not altered its position on Falklands sovereignty, he believes the Trump administration may apply heavy diplomatic leverage over London’s military budget.
“You don’t take the security and skip the bill. That is free-riding,” Murphy said, before adding: “Friends tell friends the check is due. Squeeze is accountability.”
The Falklands’ dispute escalated after reports emerged that U.K. Chancellor John Healey is expected to announce that the government will drop its target of spending 3% of gross domestic product on defense by 2030 when he delivers his first budget in October, according to The Financial Times.
TOP US ALLY’S DEFENSE CHIEF QUITS, WARNS MILITARY LACKS RESOURCES FOR RISING THREATS
A former Pentagon official said the United States has not changed its position on the Falklands and has been neutral on its sovereignty for decades.(Peter Hazell/Getty Images)
The tension comes amid a six-month Pentagon review of U.S. troop deployments in Europe led by Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby, according to Reuters.
As Washington pushes European allies and Canada to take greater responsibility for NATO’s conventional defense, the U.S. is expected to retain a supporting role, including its nuclear deterrent, according to The Associated Press.
“We can’t ‘withdraw support’ for sovereignty of the Falklands that was never there,” Murphy said. “Policy experts know the difference between an unsourced whisper to a British paper that ‘nothing is being ruled out’ and an official word from the White House.”
Murphy said the U.S. remains neutral on Falkland sovereignty and continues to recognize British administration of the islands.
HEGSETH ANNOUNCES 6-MONTH REVIEW OF AMERICAN FORCES IN EUROPE, BLASTS NATO ALLIES FOR PUTTING TROUPS ‘AT RISK’
U.K. Chancellor John Healey is expected to announce that the government will drop its target of spending 3% of gross domestic product on defense by 2030 when he delivers his first budget.(Peter Nicholls/Pool via Reuters)
Addressing reports from April of an internal Pentagon email suggesting the U.S. could review its position on the islands, Murphy noted the lack of confirmation.
“I have not seen that email. The Pentagon did not confirm it. The official word that followed was the same U.S. position we have now: neutral on sovereignty, recognize British administration,” Murphy said.
“I no longer work at the White House and can’t speak in any way for the administration, but I can say that the islanders voted 99.8% to stay British in 2013,” he said of Falkland Islanders, who voted in a referendum that year to remain a British overseas territory.
Murphy emphasized that Washington, however, would maintain other diplomatic options without altering the status quo in the Falklands and said the U.S. is actively pressuring Britain on defense obligations.
Under current projections, U.K. defense spending would reach 2.7% of GDP by 2030, with the government expected to set a new timeline for reaching 3% on its path toward NATO’s core defense-spending target by 2035.
According to the 2025 Hague Summit Declaration, NATO allies agreed to spend 5% of GDP annually on defense and security-related expenditures by 2035, including at least 3.5% on core defense requirements, and to submit annual plans charting a credible path to meet NATO capability targets.
AS TRUMP’S NATO GAMBLE PAYS OFF, ENVOY NAMES ALLIES HE’S STILL WATCHING
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte (R) and Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof (L) welcome President Donald Trump (C) at the NATO Heads of State and Government Summit in the Hague, the Netherlands on June 25, 2025. (Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“Last year in The Hague they signed up for 5% by 2035, which won headlines, but Britain still will not lock 3% by 2030,” Murphy said. “I’ve watched this town treat a treaty like a suggestion. Friends don’t let allies cheat. So yes, squeeze London on the number.”
He added: “This is the habit: put a number in a communiqué, then treat it as optional. They signed the pledge. They still slide.”
Describing potential U.S. pressure on London as “leverage, not abandonment,” Murphy said pushing Britain to increase defense spending would be “in the best national security interest of the U.S. and the U.K.”
“After Wales in 2014, most of Europe missed the 2% guideline while the U.S. shouldered the load as usual,” Murphy added.
“The United States extends the nuclear umbrella, the intel, the industrial base, the special relationship… You squeeze a budget with tools that move a budget,” he said of Washington’s process.
STARMER IN ‘SEISMIC’ CRISIS, UK DEFENSE CHIEF QUITS BEFORE HIGH-STAKES TRUMP NATO SUMMIT
Elbridge Colby is the Pentagon’s under secretary of war for policy and a key architect of the administration’s push for European allies to shoulder more of NATO’s conventional defense burden.(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“Public pressure from the president. Annual Hague reviews. A dated 3% by 2030, or a funded path to 3.5% core by 2035, before the next UK defense budget. The special relationship is a privilege, not a welfare program.
“Tariffs if the White House wants them,” Murphy warned.
“The UK is playing a central role in NATO and strengthening collective defence across Europe,” a U.K. government spokesperson said, according to Sky News. “We are NATO’s third-largest cash spender on defence and the only European NATO member to commit our nuclear deterrent to the alliance.”
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Fox News Digital has reached out to the Pentagon and 10 Downing Street for comment.
Emma Bussey is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital. Before joining Fox, she worked at The Telegraph with the U.S. overnight team, across desks including foreign, politics, news, sport and culture.