The United States on Thursday called on NATO allies to back up a new military strategy with firm financial commitments, urging funding for a European anti-missile shield and better cyber defences.

At a meeting of alliance foreign and defence ministers, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defence Secretary Robert Gates endorsed a proposed "strategic concept" for NATO, but stressed that member states needed to secure funding for the new approach.

"We will have to make sure — at Lisbon — that the words in the strategic concept will be matched by agreement to invest in the capabilities necessary to turn those words into reality," Gates told fellow ministers, referring to a NATO summit in November.

"None of our commitments will be meaningful if NATO is not funded sufficiently," said Gates, whose statement was released to reporters along with Clinton's remarks.

While he acknowledged fiscal pressures on defence budgets across the alliance, Gates warned against cuts that could weaken NATO and leave it crippled.

"But as nations deal with their economic problems, we must guard against the hollowing out of alliance military capability by spending reductions that cut too far into muscle," he said.

Gates urged allies to waste no time in building up missile defences and shoring up "vulnerabilities" in cyber security.

For an anti-missile network, Gates said that "the studies have been done, the data are well-known and the affordability is clear."

"We can protect ourselves from ballistic missiles affordably, and over time increase protection over all parts of NATO Europe," he said.

"It is time for a decision," said Gates. On Wednesday, he told reporters there was broad agreement among allies for a common missile defence system.

He warned that the "alliance is far behind" in defending its vital digital networks.

"Our vulnerabilities are well-known, but our existing programmes to remedy these weaknesses are inadequate," he said.

The proposed NATO strategy cites cyber security as a priority, he said, but the document's "language could be sharpened further."

NATO leaders are expected to sign off on the strategic concept at the Lisbon summit next month, replacing a document written in 1999 — two years before the September 11 attacks on the United States that sparked the war in Afghanistan and elaborate counter-terrorism efforts.

Clinton said the draft strategy was "excellent" and that it "strikes the right balance in many areas — especially disarmament and deterrence, NATO's relations with Russia, and the need to enhance NATO's capacity for conducting civilian-military operations."

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