New US strategy

Author: VK

The US announced its new military strategy on January 5, demonstrating new totally different approaches to security: reduced military expenses, adjusted structure of US Armed Forces, withdrawal of some ground troops in Europe, and the redistribution of resources for other spheres. The US no longer plans to be involved in long-term military operations, but still expect to increase presence in the Asian-Pacific Region. Experts have discussed changes in the US strategy in a video conference of Moscow and Beijing.

Xing Xangxunb, deputy head of the Center for American Studies of the People’s University of China

The main topic of the new military strategy of America was provision of global US leadership and priorities in defenses of the 21st century. Washington’s range military goals has been narrowed down: the US used to be prepared for having two wars simultaneously, but now they can only have one and keep the opportunity for a strike against another state. The role of the navy and the air forces enhances. America plans to use technological benefits in further military campaigns. The common military concept policy of the US remains the same, in general. America wants to reduce presence in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, but at the same time move its potential to the Asian-Pacific Region. Moreover, such strategy is used in a complex with the strategy of cultural, economic and other spheres of influence.

China views this policy as a containment strategy, similar to their attitude towards the Soviet Union. On the other hand, both states value their partner relations. Nonetheless, the US policy against China has not reached a point of global containment. Washington understands that it cannot realize the grandiose plans at many positions. The US takes part in many international economic projects and platforms for dialogue. In military terms, America strengthens old military alliances (with Japan and South Korea) and forms new ones, for example with Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand. But careful analysis of all aspects shows that the US cannot achieve all goals in the region at full scale.

Sergey Trush, leading science member of the Center for Regional Problems of the Institute for US and Canada Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences

China, the center of the Asian-Pacific Region, is in the focus of US military strategy. Nonetheless, we cannot talk about total military-strategic encirclement of China because Chinese-American relations include a whole complex of mutual interests, including heavy financial mutual dependence. On the other hand, “despite lack of total confrontation between sides, the situation around China gets denser by the US”.

Sin Guanchan, Deputy Director of the Institute for History and Geography of Border Areas of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

The Asian-Pacifi Region is the locomotive of economic activities all over the world. 30 years of reforms in China have given a certain level of development and it is viewed as a certain challenge to US influence in the area. The reasons for changes in the American strategy, in this aspect, lie in the natural development processes of China, but US attitude towards these processes varies.

Andrey Davydov, leading science member of the Institute of Far Eastern Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences

The US turned attention towards the Asian-Pacific Region in its new strategy because the region is one of the most “potentially explosive” in the world. There is a whole complex of existing and long-term problems. I mean the unsettled Taiwan problem. The unsettled problem of the Korean Peninsula. They need to be resolved. There is no security mechanism in this region. Russia has an advantageous position in Chinese-US rivalry because it has resources and opportunities to balance the situation.