The Pentagon's New Strategy For The Indo-Pacific Region

"Authored by Leonard Savin via Oriental Review,

On 1 June, the Pentagon officially unveiled its new strategy for the Indo-Pacific region. Although several such documents have been published recently – take the cyber strategy, for example – it had been reported in advance that the Pentagon’s acting head would announce the institutionalisation of yet another area of focus at the Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore during his Asia tour. And that’s what happened, although, given the focus of Patrick Shanahan’s speech, it was clear to everyone that he was primarily talking about curbing China.

The very notion of an Indo-Pacific region is relatively new and the term only started appearing in doctrine documents last year. As it says in the strategy’s preamble, however, it is the US Department of Defense’s “priority theater”.

The US began realising its intentions in 2018 with the establishment of the new US Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM), and at the ASEAN Summit in August of the same year, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pledged to provide $300 million to strengthen regional security and counter transnational threats.

In September 2018, a special military cooperation agreement – the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) – was signed with India. It involved the sharing of data, the intensification of joint exercises, and the supply of sensitive US military equipment to India. There is no doubt that the agreement was also aimed at the US establishing a monopoly. Washington was particularly concerned (and still is) about India’s possible purchase of Russian S-400 missile defence systems, as well as other weapons. Then, in December 2018, India opened a maritime information fusion centre with assistance from the US.

As for the new strategy itself, it is telling that the first chapter is dedicated to America’s historic links with the Indo-Pacific region. While its links with the Pacific region are not in doubt – several US states border the Pacific Ocean, the leading role played by Commodore Perry in opening up Japan to the West, the occupation of the Philippines when the country was a Spanish colony, and the events of the Second World War – America’s links with the Indian Ocean are questionable. Does the creation of the hybrid term “Indo-Pacific region” really give America the right to talk about its special interests in relation to this enormous area? The Pentagon and the White House seem to think so.

The second part of the strategy focuses on trends and challenges, and the People’s Republic of China as a revisionist power is mentioned first. The section covers issues surrounding the disputed territories, the militarisation of a number of islands being claimed by China, the Chinese army’s use of anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) technologies, and the use of economic leverage. However, the US itself regularly uses financial and economic institutions as a method of warfare by other means (the pressure on Huawei and the introduction of new tariffs are two recent examples). As a risk reduction measure, the strategy suggests encouraging China to engage with the US. It states that the US remains open to cooperation in every area in which the interests of both countries align.

America’s second challenge is Russia, which is described as a “revitalized malign actor”. Regret is expressed that, despite the sanctions imposed on Russia by the West and the slowdown in economic growth, Russia continues to modernise its military, including its nuclear forces, A2/AD systems, and expanded training for long-range aviation. The authors of the strategy conclude that Moscow wants to re-establish its presence in the Indo-Pacific region and carry out global influence activities there to undermine US leadership and the rules-based international order. Yet Russia has always insisted on the supremacy of international law and has urged the US to follow the UN Charter when it comes to resolving conflicts and disputes. The UN is only mentioned here in the context of Russia and China’s joint efforts in the UN Security Council, which the US regards as an attempt to weaken its world domination..."

at https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-06-07/pentagons-new-strategy-indo-pacific-region