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Seong Hyeon Choi

Deterrence to prevent war in the Indo-Pacific is important to the “America first” strategy and rebalancing economic relations with China, the US said in a national security document released on Friday.
The White House said in the latest National Security Strategy (NSS) report that the US would prioritise reciprocity and fairness to restore American economic independence.
Such a policy must be “accompanied by a robust and ongoing focus on deterrence to prevent war in the Indo-Pacific”, the report said.
“A favourable conventional military balance remains an essential component of strategic competition,” it said.
“There is, rightly, much focus on Taiwan, partly because Taiwan provides direct access to the second island chain and splits Northeast and Southeast Asia into two distinct theatres.”
“Hence, deterring a conflict over Taiwan, ideally by preserving military overmatch, is a priority,” it said.
“We will also maintain our long-standing declaratory policy on Taiwan, meaning that the United States does not support any unilateral change to the status quo in the Taiwan Strait,” the report said.
Beijing views Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. Most countries, including the US – the island’s biggest international partner – do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state. But Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the island by force and is legally bound to supply it with weapons to defend itself.


The report also said potential control of the South China Sea, a vital shipping route within the first island chain, by any competitor was a related security challenge.
The report stated that a “potentially hostile power” imposing a “toll system” over the South China Sea’s critical shipping lanes would be harmful to the US economy and its broader interests, requiring “strong measures” for deterrence such as further investment in naval capabilities, as well as strong cooperation with “every nation that stands to suffer”.
“We will build a military capable of denying aggression anywhere in the first island chain,” the report said.
The first island chain refers to a series of islands and archipelagos along the eastern edge of mainland Asia stretching from Japan through the Philippines. It is part of a US containment strategy to restrict Chinese military access to the Pacific Ocean, an approach that Washington has sought to maximise in recent years as tensions between the two countries have escalated.
The report also urged America’s Indo-Pacific allies to spend more on collective defence in the first island chain to strengthen the ability to deter “aggression”, which it said would reinforce the US and allies’ capacity to “deny any attempt to seize Taiwan”.
It said the US “must urge” countries such as Japan and South Korea to increase burden sharing, which was “necessary to deter adversaries and protect the first island chain”.
“We will also harden and strengthen our military presence in the western Pacific, while in our dealings with Taiwan and Australia we maintain our determined rhetoric on increased defence spending,” the report said.
US President Donald Trump’s administration has put pressure on America’s Indo-Pacific allies to spend up to 3.5 per cent of their gross domestic product on their own defence.
While the Indo-Pacific featured prominently in the report, the western hemisphere and domestic security were the top concerns outlined by the White House. The report focused on border control and domestic industrial abilities, marking a pivot away from previous administrations’ focus on international engagement and strategic competition with China and Russia.
The report said that after years of neglect, the western hemisphere required Washington to “reassert and enforce the Monroe Doctrine” as part of restoring “American pre-eminence” in the region and to safeguard domestic security.
“We will deny non-hemispheric competitors the ability to position forces or other threatening capabilities, or to own or control strategically vital assets, in our hemisphere,” the report said.
Earlier this year, Trump alleged that China controlled the Panama Canal, which connects the eastern Pacific with the Caribbean Sea, because Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings operates ports at either end. The firm agreed in March to transfer control of both ports to a conglomerate led by US-based BlackRock, but the deal is yet to be finalised.
Media reports have suggested Trump might reduce international engagement, including in the Indo-Pacific. His administration has also emphasised a domestic agenda focused on cracking down on migration and drug trafficking, as well as relations with Latin American countries.
The Trump administration has been embroiled in tensions with Venezuela over US strikes and military operations on ships said to be transporting drugs to the United States, and the US leader has raised the possibility of a land attack on the South American country.


The NSS is a congressionally mandated report published by each administration to outline its strategic priorities and vision, including national threats, relations with allies and adversaries, and military posture. The Pentagon then uses the document to come up with the National Defence Strategy (NDS), which lays out military plans, force structures and budgets.
The NSS has not been updated since 2022, when the administration of then president Joe Biden emphasised strategic competition with China and Russia, renewed investment for domestic industrial policy and climate change in the report.
While the documents are typically released at the start of every administration, the latest NSS had been delayed by controversies over the language and priorities laid out in the report.
It was released only a couple of days after US news outlet Politico reported that the NSS was delayed because US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had insisted more work should be done to soften language used to discuss China. The request came amid sensitive trade talks with Beijing, according to Politico, citing people familiar with the matter.
The release of the report comes ahead of the Reagan National Defence Forum, which will take place in Simi Valley, California, on Friday and Saturday. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth is scheduled to attend.
The Ronald Reagan Institute, the US non-profit group that organised the forum, published survey results on Thursday that said a “record high” 64 per cent of Americans favoured more international engagement by the US military, including in a potential Taiwan conflict – a contrast to the Trump administration’s focus on the western hemisphere and domestic security.
Trump’s restraint-oriented policy has caused a split within the Republican Party, especially among lawmakers who favour US foreign policy outreach and a global military presence.
Elbridge Colby, US undersecretary of defence for policy, is in charge of rewriting the NDS. He has been a key figure in the Trump administration’s attempt to reduce American troop presence in Europe and the Middle East while shifting the focus to containing China.
Colby has reportedly collided with Republican lawmakers, including Senator Roger Wicker, who chairs the US Senate Committee on Armed Services. Wicker has accused the Pentagon of undermining national security with plans to remove US troops from Europe and pause some aid to Ukraine.


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US-China relations

In a new national security document, the White House says the US will “build a military capable of denying aggression anywhere in the first island chain”. Photo: US Navy via Getty Images

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Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) meets with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Moscow on the sidelines of the celebration marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Soviet Union’s Great Patriotic War in May. Photo: Xinhua

US Marines prepare to engage targets during a deck shoot last month in the Caribbean Sea. Photo: AFP

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Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro takes part in a government-organized civic-military rally last month in Caracas. Photo: AP

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US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks during The New York Times DealBook Summit, at the Lincoln Centre, New York, on Wednesday. Photo: Getty Images via AFP

New York Times columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speak during the 2025 New York Times Dealbook Summit at the Lincoln Centre, New York, on Wednesday. Photo: Getty Images via AFP

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has sought to dial down tensions with Beijing over a hypothetical conflict in the Taiwan Strait. Photo: Reuters

US should speed up arms deliveries to Taiwan, create regional stockpile, Senate hears

Two US-made M1A2T tanks fire during military exercises in Hsinchu county, Taiwan. A Senate hearing has been told that Washington is still far from delivering the military capabilities it has pledged to Taiwan. Photo: EPA

Rush Doshi was Joe Biden’s deputy senior director for China and Taiwan on the National Security Council. Photo: Rush Doshi

News

China

Diplomacy

Military

While Indo-Pacific features prominently in the document, the western hemisphere and domestic security are top White House concerns


While Indo-Pacific features prominently in the document, the western hemisphere and domestic security are top White House concerns.


Donald Trump

Donald Trump’s China policy

Taiwan

South China Sea