US outlines hard-edged defence posture to deter China in Indo-Pacific

Washington, Dec 7 The United States has outlined a more rigid defence posture to counter China's growing military and economic influence in the Indo-Pacific.

In its new National Security Strategy, the Trump administration calls the region "one of the next century's key economic and geopolitical battlegrounds" and says the US must be prepared to "deny aggression anywhere in the First Island Chain".

The strategy, released later this week, says earlier US policy toward Beijing was built on "mistaken American assumptions about China". It argues that decades of engagement strengthened China at the expense of American workers and industries.

"American elites, over four successive administrations of both political parties, were either willing enablers of China's strategy or in denial," the report says.

The document lists a series of practices Washington intends to confront, including "predatory, state-directed subsidies and industrial strategies", "unfair trading practices", and "grand-scale intellectual property theft".

It also cites threats to supply chains, including minerals and rare earth elements, and points to Chinese exports of "fentanyl precursors that fuel America's opioid epidemic".

Defence planning places special attention on Taiwan. The island "provides direct access to the Second Island Chain and splits Northeast and Southeast Asia into two distinct theatres", the strategy says.

The administration reaffirms the long-standing US position that it "does not support any unilateral change to the status quo in the Taiwan Strait".

The document warns that Chinese control of the South China Sea could allow a "potentially hostile power to impose a toll system" or "close and reopen it at will". One-third of global shipping passes through those waters. The strategy calls for "strong measures" to ensure they remain open.

To sustain deterrence, the administration says the US must preserve "a military balance favourable to the United States and to our allies in the region". It pledges deeper investment in high-end capabilities, citing AI, quantum computing, autonomous systems, and advanced energy technologies.

The strategy also puts more responsibility on US allies. "Our allies must step up and spend-and more importantly, do much more for collective defence," it says. That includes granting additional access to US forces, increasing defence spending, and investing in deterrence-focused capabilities.

India is identified as a central partner. The strategy says Washington "must continue to improve commercial (and other) relations with India to encourage New Delhi to contribute to Indo-Pacific security", including through deeper cooperation in the Quad.

The document's release comes as Washington and Beijing compete across technology, trade, and maritime security. US officials have long viewed China as the pacing challenge in military planning, with Taiwan and the South China Sea seen as flashpoints that could shape the regional balance for decades.

The Trump administration's new strategy formalises that view.

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