A new global strategy is emerging in the “hot” region of the Indo-Pacific, as the United States, Australia, and Japan intensify their pressure against the rising military power of China.
A strategy that comes to create even more problems and questions than those already existing in the region of Taiwan.
And while questions are still seeking answers, the stage is being set. Military alliances such as AUKUS (Australia, Britain, United States) and QUAD (United States, Japan, Australia, India) accuse China of threatening the architecture of regional security and declare that, in order to be ready for any scenario, they want to acquire as soon as possible the most modern weapons, including nuclear ones.
To satisfy this nightmare request, the consent of the United States is required, which, if given, will not only pour oil on the fire but will propel tensions to the most dangerous geopolitical point on the planet.
American greeting
The United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, and the head of the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth, recently spoke with the Australian Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense, Penny Wong and Richard Marles.
They discussed the confrontation with China in the Indo-Pacific region, mainly due to Taiwan.
“This is what unites us not only with Australia, but also with many of our allies around the world, the desire to diversify supplier chains and the belief that in order to protect our countries, our allies, to protect one another and to develop our economy, we need reliable and diverse chains.
These can be used as leverage against us and our partners.
Therefore, the United States and Australia are working closely in this area and it is the foundation of everything we intend to do together with them in the coming period,” stated Rubio.
For their part, Wong and Marles wanted to ensure that they would receive from their allies in AUKUS three Virginia-class nuclear submarines.
As part of the first phase of payment, Canberra has already allocated one billion dollars to the United States.
The stab in the back
The military coalition of Australia, Britain, and the United States was created in 2021, amid a scandal between the French and Australian authorities.
Paris had promised to sell submarines to Canberra, but the buyer wanted them to be built in Australian shipyards.
The French reacted with a sharp increase in price.
The Americans exploited the situation and essentially “snatched” the client from a NATO ally.
In France, they spoke of a “stab in the back” and temporarily recalled their ambassadors from Canberra and Washington.
In March 2025, the United States Deputy Secretary of Defense, Elbridge Colby, stated that it would be “great” if the Australians acquired submarines, but pointed to the “very real threat of conflict in the coming years” and that the American fleet is “absolutely necessary” for the protection of Taiwan.
The revision
In June, the Financial Times reported that the Pentagon is revising the agreement with Australia on submarine construction.
This caused concern in Canberra and London about the future of AUKUS.
In October, Donald Trump, signing an agreement with the Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for the supply of rare earths worth 8.5 billion dollars, assured that Canberra would receive the submarines, which, as he stated, are already under construction.
However, in Australia there are doubts about this.
Japanese warning
Whatever the case may be, from Washington, Marles traveled to Tokyo.
Japan is an ally of Australia in QUAD, which also includes the United States and India.
The Minister of Defense of Japan, Shinzhiro Koizumi, called on Canberra to remain vigilant due to the “increasing likelihood of military aggression by Beijing against Taiwan.”
The Japanese also reacted to the fact that during Chinese exercises near Okinawa, the aircraft carrier Liaoning allegedly turned its radar toward Japanese fighter aircraft.
In Beijing, this is denied, claiming that Tokyo is simply seeking pretexts to suspend the exercises.
Tension with China
Japanese-Chinese relations sharply intensified when Sanae Takichi assumed the post of prime minister.
From her first days, Takichi spoke harshly about Taiwan, threatening Beijing and proposing to society to abandon the pacifist constitution adopted after the defeat in World War II.
Marles confirmed readiness to defend the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and expressed the desire to cooperate with the Japanese to maintain the “rules-based order and ensure peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.”
As for Wong, she had condemned China for its display of military power, considering that it threatens the regional security system.
Everything ahead of us
The Secretary of the Security Council of Russia, Sergey Shoigu, recently noted that in the Asia-Pacific Region (APR) military-political associations similar to NATO are being formed.
This creates additional threats both for Moscow and for the countries of ASEAN.
Earlier, the Deputy Minister of Defense, Oleg Savelyev, had pointed out that an “Indo-Pacific coalition” could be created in the APR, a “direct analogue of NATO.”
This includes, among others, the countries of AUKUS and QUAD.
The Chief Researcher of the Center for the Study of Contemporary China of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Andrei Ostrovsky, emphasizes that the main goal of the United States is to contain the development of China.
“The Americans prefer economic pressure.
The Asian version of NATO is a backup plan.
Especially the Trump administration is not enthusiastic about it, because from Europe it appears that the alliance can be an effective tool at one moment and the next day become a burden that is difficult to get rid of,” explains Ostrovsky.
Echoes of the past
The Director of the Institute of Asian and African Countries in Moscow, Alexey Maslov, considers AUKUS and QUAD to be “echoes of the past.”
“Under Trump, these organizations lost their relevance.
They also lack a common equipment standard and a common defense strategy.
As for the statements about the growing Chinese threat, all of this concerns Taiwan, that is, a part of China.
Nevertheless, Australia and Japan, for their own reasons, do not want the United States to forget them, which is why they periodically remind Washington about Beijing,” says the Russian analyst.
Experts acknowledge that China is increasing its military, but in its military doctrine there is nothing aggressive.
The country in particular does not participate in any defense organizations so as not to provoke other countries.
But AUKUS and QUAD were created.
If the United States changes its stance toward military alliances, the threat emanating from them will increase.
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