Debate over Donald Trump’s “America First” strategy raises questions about whether the United States is pursuing restraint or reshaping its role in the Indo-Pacific region. We recently invited several experts to assess how shifting defence burdens to allies like Japan and South Korea is affecting deterrence and alliance credibility.
Together they explore the implications for regional stability and competition with China.
Read MoreWritten by Seungwan Kim and Jun Sun Yoo
Washington increasingly expects allies not only to share regional defence burdens but also to expand industrial capacity, co-invest in critical technologies, and assume greater responsibility for deterring China. An East Asian AUKUS framework could align with these expectations by signalling Seoul’s commitment to Indo-Pacific security while adding industrial and operational depth to alliance deterrence.
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