Middle powers matter in new Indo-Pacific calculus – Asia Times
By ALEXANDER M HYND And THOMAS WILKINS JUNE 16, 2023
The Indo-Pacific is increasingly defined by strategic competition between the United States and China. But this dynamic is further complicated by the presence of a class of diverse but consequential second-tier states.
Their middling economic and military capabilities are often combined with valuable geographic positioning around the flashpoints of potential conflict, or elevated social status in elite global clubs such as the G20 or OECD – making them important regional players whose roles and preferences cannot be ignored.
Many of these middle power states are rapidly departing from long-held security policies and priorities, as recently demonstrated in Japan’s National Security Strategy, Australia’s Defense Strategic Review, and South Korea’s Indo-Pacific Strategy.
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