- China sees itself as the hub of a global alliance network, where its dominant partners are Russia, North Korea, and Pakistan, which all share a reliance on nuclear war-fighting weapons and weak economies.
- America has treaty alliances with Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea (ROK), the Philippines, and Thailand, with trillions of dollars invested throughout the region and strong economies.
- US alliances allow partners to develop independent foreign relations based on trade and economic development. For autonomy in foreign policy, a wealthy nation needs nuclear weapons or a treaty relationship with a country that has nuclear weapons. The US nuclear umbrella, therefore, undergirds these trade relationships and military partnerships.
- We have created a lattice of allied countries with independent foreign policies and deep financial ties. This mesh of relationships binds together disparate allies like India and Vietnam.
- The goal is for US friends, partners, and allies to resist Chinese economic pressure. When Beijing can’t buy off or coerce US allies and partners, our Indo-Pacific economic cooperation will deepen, limiting China’s freedom of action when confronting the size and depth of potential coalitions against it.
