Unlock the free White House Watch newsletter
Your guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the world
The US will boost its military capabilities in the Indo-Pacific as part of a new defense strategy to ensure that China cannot block American access to the region that is becoming a global hub of economic power.
in a new national defense strategy Released Friday evening, the Pentagon said it would focus on the Western Hemisphere as well as defending the homeland and deterring China in the Indo-Pacific.
The NDS said America’s security and prosperity are linked to America’s “ability to trade and engage from a strong position in the Indo-Pacific region.”
But the document also takes a softer stance on China than President Donald Trump First NDS in 2018Which said that Beijing wants to shape the world in the image of its “authoritarian model”. It did not mention Taiwan, the most likely place where conflict could erupt between the US and China.
The document comes a month after Trump released his National Security Strategy, which prioritized the Western Hemisphere, which the NDS said would help counter narco-terrorism, in addition to gaining access to Greenland, the Gulf of Mexico and the Panama Canal.
The NDS said that if China came to dominate the Indo-Pacific, it would be able to “effectively prevent Americans’ access to the world’s economic center of gravity”. The strategy document also urged allies to do more to promote collective defense in the region.
It said the US would “build a strong denial defense along the first island chain”, referring to an area of the Indo-Pacific that stretches from Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines to Borneo and the Malay Peninsula.
The strategy states that Trump wants “stable peace, fair trade and respectful relations with China” but from a “position of strength.” It said the Pentagon would expand communications with the Chinese military to support “strategic stability” with Beijing.
The NDS said the US is not trying to dominate, strangle or humiliate China. “Our goal is simple: to prevent anyone, including China, from dominating us or our allies.”
It said Washington wants to “set military conditions for a balance of power in the Indo-Pacific that allows us all to enjoy a decent peace”.
The NDS claimed that the US would no longer be distracted by “intervention, endless war, regime change and nation building”. But this comes after the Trump administration bombed nuclear facilities in Iran, captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and caused a crisis with Europe over Greenland.
The document states that Russia will remain a “persistent but manageable threat to NATO’s eastern members for the foreseeable future.” On the Middle East, it said Iran remained the greatest threat and appeared to “intend to restructure its conventional military forces” and may try again to build nuclear weapons.
Calling Israel a “model ally”, the Pentagon said America’s Middle Eastern allies and partners should bear most of the burden of fighting Iran, but Washington could take “focused, decisive action” in the region.
Trump said on Thursday that Washington is building up military assets in the Middle East. The region had been bracing for US intervention as the Iranian government cracked down on protesters this month, but the president softened his rhetoric after lobbying by Israeli and Arab officials.
According to the strategy, the Pentagon will create “credible options” to guarantee military and commercial access to Greenland, the Gulf of Mexico and the Panama Canal. It was claimed that the influence of opponents has increased in those areas.
After repeatedly threatening military action to annex Greenland, Trump backed down on Wednesday and ruled out the “use of force” to bring the Arctic island under US control, instead agreeing to pursue talks with Denmark and Nuuk.
The strategy said the US would work in “good faith” with Canada and Latin American countries, but warned that the Pentagon is prepared to take unilateral “focused, decisive action” if those countries “do not do their part to protect our shared interests” in the Western Hemisphere.
