Evolving US Indo-Pacific Posture and Strategic Competition with China

<p xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" class="first" dir="auto" id="d1923588e91"> <i>The United States (US) under its Indo-Pacific policy explicitly aims to counter China’s political, economic and military maneuvers. China’s territorial claims compelled the US to revisit its Indo-Pacific policy and posture. In 2022, under former President Joe Biden, the US introduced its Indo-Pacific strategy that underscores the free, open and prosperous vision of the region. Viewing from the lens of Neo-Realism, the strategy hinted towards building alliances with partners, promoting transparent democratic values and norms in the region, mitigating any aggressive threat to the region and finally securing the US’ interests. Increased military spending, forming new partnerships and alliances—QUAD, AUKUS ANZUS—developing economic and technological infrastructures in the region are all part of the strategies which the US state department had issued in the IPS-2022. Similarly, its National Defense Strategy (NDS) implicitly mentions all those measures which are to be taken by the US to ensure stability in the region. The reelection of President Trump in the office in 2025 is anticipated to have significant impacts on the established international norms and values but the containment of China remains a core objective of the US. While on the other hand, in response to the IPS 2022, China has increased its defense spending, expanded regional economic projects, challenged US narratives and positions at the UNSC, and imposed reciprocal tariffs to maintain its influence. </i> <i>This paper aims to address the political, economic and military implications of the US Indo-Pacific policy for China including regional alliances, trade and investments, arms race, maritime security, tariffs and duties. It also re-evaluates IPS 2022 under Trump 2.0 administration and analyzes the US and China’s military capabilities deployed in the region. </i> </p>