MANILA: The United States is not disengaging from Asia and is instead "digging in" to maintain a favourable balance of power in the Indo-Pacific, but wants its partners to shoulder more responsibility for their defence, a senior Pentagon official said on Monday (Aug 10). "America is definitely not disengaging from Asia," Colby said in a speech in Manila. "We are not leaving; in fact, we are digging in, to ensure a favourable balance of power where it matters most." The Philippines, the United States' oldest treaty ally in Asia, is the first stop on a Southeast Asian trip that also will take Colby to Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia. "When our partners are strong, deterrence is strong," he added.