The Thickening Web of Asian Security Cooperation: Deepening Defense Ties Among U.S. Allies and Partners in the Indo-Pacific
Abstract
Since approximately the turn of the century, key U.S. allies, security partners, and diplomatic interlocutors in the Indo-Pacific have been establishing or deepening their defense ties across a range of important areas. Whereas previously several of such actors (Australia, Japan, the Philippines, and South Korea) engaged in defense ties largely or exclusively with their ally the United States, in recent years they have begun to branch out, engaging with each other on high-level security consultations, selling or transferring defense articles, engaging in joint defense industrial development, carrying out bilateral training and exercises, and/or signing defense-related agreements that enable cooperation on maintenance and repair or defense intelligence information sharing. What is more, these key U.S. allies are also cooperating more today with countries such as India, Indonesia, and Vietnam that, while not U.S. treaty allies, have nonetheless aligned themselves more closely with the United States as China has grown both more powerful and more assertive in recent years. As a consequence, a set of important new linkages and security commitments among regional actors is forming, with substantial consequences for the United States, China, and the Indo-Pacific region.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2019
- Accession Number
- AD1081264
Entities
People
- Brian Harding
- Derek Grossman
- Gregory Poling
- Jeffrey D. Smith
- Jeffrey W. Hornung
- Meagon L. Smith
- Scott W. Harold
Organizations
- RAND Corporation