Strategic Competition > Security
Securing the Indo-Pacific
Deterring Aggression, Defending Democracy, and Upholding a Free and Open Regional Order
Kennedy chatting with Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe after he delivered a speech to a Joint Session of Congress.
Mark Kennedy has visited U.S. military based in the region including Joint Base Pearl Harbor - Hickam in Hawaii, Anderson AFB in Guam, Kadena AFB, Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Yokosuka Naval Base, and Yokota AFB in Japan, and Camp Humphreys in South Korea.
Strategic Framing
- The Indo-Pacific is the primary theater of 21st-century strategic competition. It is where the contest over maritime freedom, technological leadership, and democratic norms will be decided.
- With over 60% of global GDP, nearly half of humanity, and critical trade arteries like the South China Sea, the Indo-Pacific’s future will determine the shape of the global order.
- China’s growing assertiveness—from military intimidation of Taiwan to coercive island-building and gray zone cyber campaigns—demands a unified, credible, and sustained U.S. response.
- Securing the Indo-Pacific is not about containment—it is about preserving a free, open, and rules-based regional environment where all nations, large and small, can thrive.
Sustaining Deterrence Through Integrated Power
- Forward presence matters. U.S. military posture in the region—including rotational forces in Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, and Guam—must remain credible and modernized.
- Integrated deterrence means synchronizing military, cyber, space, and informational capabilities across domains and with allies.
- The AUKUS agreement, Quad partnership, and growing U.S.–Philippines cooperation reflect momentum—but require deeper interoperability, shared intelligence, and joint planning.
Economic Security Is Strategic Security
- Advance digital trade frameworks that prioritize openness, data privacy, and democratic standards—countering authoritarian models of digital control.
Defending Sovereignty and Maritime Freedom
- The South and East China Seas must remain open to all nations, not dominated by any one power.
Deepening Alliances and Building New Partnerships
🏛️ Engaging Administration or Congress, 📰 Op-Ed / Ariticle / Quoted 🎙️ Podcast ✍️ Policy Brief 👥 Roundtable / Event 🎤 Speaking 🎥 TV/Video 🌐 Global
🇯🇵 Japan: Cornerstone of Regional Security
The U.S.–Japan alliance remains the foundation of Indo-Pacific stability, anchored in shared values, technological cooperation, and forward-deployed deterrence.
Kennedy conversing with Japan's Prime Minister Fumion Kishida following his address to a Joint Session of Congress.
- 🎤 Speech: New Realities Must Drive Foreign Policy - Address to Univeristy of Tokyo Program supported by Daikin - August 25, 2023
- 🎤 🇯🇵 Speech: State of U.S. - Japan Relations - U.S. Embassy in Tokyo - June 7, 2016
- 🎤 🇯🇵 Speech: State of U.S. - Japan Relations - Canon Institute for Global Studies in Tokyo - October 17, 2014
🇰🇷 South Korea: Strategic and Technological Partner
As a leading democracy and innovation hub, South Korea plays a vital role in regional security, supply chain resilience, and trilateral coordination with Japan and the U.S.
Kennedy visiting leadership of U.S. military at Yongsan Garrison in Seoul, South Korea in 2005.
- - "Now that Japan is upgrading both their military capabilities as well as the flexibility with which to use them, the benefits that the alliance gets from being able to act together are greater...So I think to have a long term aspiration that perhaps South Korea could plug greater into that command and control process is an appropriate question to keep at our forefront.”
- - "I think U.S., Japan and Korea, having come together as closely as they have in recent months, is part of what's motivating China to now want to make sure that they're building and in keeping those strong relations with their own neighbors.”
🇦🇺 Australia: Forward-Leaning Security Ally
Through AUKUS, joint exercises, and diplomatic alignment, Australia is deepening its defense and technology collaboration with the United States to counter regional coercion.
The Sydney Opera House (in the background) could double for the symbol of the U.S. - Australian relationship - harmonious. As Australian Prime Minister John Howard once told Kennedy - "We are your strongest ally. We were with you in Vietnam (UK abstained)."
🇮🇳 India: The Quad’s Democratic Balancer
India’s strategic autonomy and rising global profile make it a pivotal partner in building collective capacity across defense, infrastructure, and the Indo-Pacific commons.
Kennedy at the "India Gate in New Delhi, a World War I memorial.
🌏 Southeast Asia: The Front Line of Influence
Nations like the Philippines and Vietnam are increasingly resisting Chinese pressure. U.S. engagement—military, economic, and diplomatic—remains critical to supporting their sovereignty and resilience.
Kennedy at Independence Palance (formerly home of the President of the Republic of Vietnam) in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon).
Events and Publications
Rubio charts a course for countering China
“Secretary Rubio’s Southeast Asia policy will focus on countering China through stronger U.S. trade, security partnerships and supply chain diversification,” said Mark Kennedy, director at the Wilson Center’s Wahba Institute for Strategic Competition
“THE LEVEL OF THE U.S.-JAPAN SECURITY ALLIANCE IS RAISED, AND ‘DETERRENCE OF CHINA’ IS THE KEY… “KOREAN PARTICIPATION IS INEVITABLE”
Now that Japan is upgrading both their military capabilities as well as the flexibility with which to use them, the benefits that the alliance gets from being able to act together are greater...So I think to have a long term aspiration that perhaps South Korea could plug greater into that command and control process is an appropriate question to keep at our forefront.”
EXPERTS WARN THAT CHINA MAY BE HAPPY TO SEE AID TO UKRAINE GRADUALLY DRY UP
“Abandoning the Ukraine struggle that is central to European security would embolden Xi Jinping in Asia as it suggests a lack of enduring American resolve to defend freedom and support allies.”
STRONG SOLIDARITY BETWEEN SOUTH KOREA, U.S. AND JAPAN LEADS TO CHINA SEEKING TO ENGAGE
"I think U.S., Japan and Korea, having come together as closely as they have in recent months, is part of what's motivating China to now want to make sure that they're building and in keeping those strong relations with their own neighbors.”
IF A WAR BREAKS OUT ACROSS THE TAIWAN STRAIT, CAN THE U.S. MILITARY TAKE CARE OF THE THREE-PARTY BATTLEFIELD?
"In past conflicts related to Israel, the United States was a key material aid provider, but it has never directly intervene in the war. Therefore, the United States’ focus on East Asia and the military resources invested in East Asia will not be distracted.” "The United States recently moved an aircraft carrier to the sea off Israel. Its purpose was to warn Iran and Russia not to intervene in the war, but this aircraft carrier has always been in the Middle East. The United States has strategic deployments in the Middle East and East Asia, and Ukraine and Israel Conflict will not tip the balance in which the United States is now focused on East Asia."
RAIMONDO’S CHINA TRIP PROVES THAT JUST ENGAGING BEIJING ISN’T ENOUGH
“All of these policy changes (by China) do not make sense if the goal is to promote long-term economic growth, but they could make sense if they are meant to help endure a conflict with the West,” Mark Kennedy, director of the Wilson Center’s Wahba Institute for Strategic Competition, told me.
US STRATEGIC INTEREST IN DETERRING AGGRESSION AGAINST TAIWAN IS PARAMOUNT
Photo - meeting with Taiwans' first DPP President Chen Shui-bian in 2005.
SPEECH: NEW REALITIES MUST DRIVE FOREIGN POLICY
CHINA OWNS 300,000 ACRES OF LAND IN THE U.S. HERE'S WHERE
Mark Kennedy, director of the Wilson Center's Wahba Institute for Strategic Competition, said that the Chinese government has laws that allow the government to access information held by its citizens and corporations. "That ability by the government to gain access to information is one of the reasons why people view the risk of dealing with a Chinese corporation similar to what they would view as the risk of dealing with the Chinese Communist Party or the government," Kennedy said.
US, AUSTRALIA, UK FORGE LANDMARK NUCLEAR SUBMARINE DEAL
"This is really more a response to the very aggressive military buildup that China has had, as opposed to anything we're doing that would be provoking to China," Mark Kennedy, director of the Wahba Institute for Strategic Competition at the Wilson Center, told VOA.
ALLIES’ CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE—AND ITS RESILIENCE—ARE ESSENTIAL TO DETER AUTHORITARIAN RIVALS
AUSTRALIA SHOULD WORK CLOSELY WITH U.S. TO MASTER NUCLEAR SUBMARINE BUILDING, CONGRESSMEN SAY
References "The Geopolitical Importance of Southeast Asia and The Pacific" panel
SHINZO ABE’S LEGACY WORTHY OF THE HIGHEST HONOR
Minister Fumio Kishida’s recent introduction of a roadmap to increase Japanese spending on defense from 1 percent of GDP to 2 percent of GDP certainly continues the spirt of Shinzo Abe.
ALASKA’S GEOPOLITICAL IMPORTANCE IN THE AGE OF GREAT POWER COMPETITION
Note Denali or Mount McKinley in background from windo of a C-130.