European countries fear the US commitment to protect them is wavering and will be further tested by the efforts of rival powers, including China, to gain influence in the region, Florence Parly, France’s defence minister, has warned. 

Speaking in Washington ahead of a meeting on Monday with Patrick Shanahan, acting US defence secretary, Ms Parly said a US decision to pull back from European defence and “do its own thing” could come back to haunt it. 

Her remarks highlight growing transatlantic tensions as President Donald Trump ramps up longstanding US pressure for European allies in Nato to raise their military spending. While US officials insist Washington has no plans to pull out of the western alliance, European diplomats are anxious about the president’s past antipathy towards an organisation he once described as “obsolete”.