Indo-Pacific Geopolitics Newsletter 10/16/2022 | Foreign Brief
US President Joseph Biden released his administration’s first National Security Strategy (NSS) document on October 12. The strategy, which lays out US national security priorities and strategies, was long delayed following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and was eagerly awaited by both domestic and international audiences. The document emphasizes confronting competition with China and Russia abroad, securing economic growth and democratic institutions domestically and combating climate change. However, Biden also noted that foreign and domestic policy are now blurred, as strengthening US democracy will help strengthen democracies abroad in what he has posed as the critical fight against autocracies.
The National Security Strategy points to Russia as the more immediate threat to US security, while China is a larger, longer-term challenge. To confront these threats, the NSS advocates for increased military spending and modernization, strengthened international alliances and growing private industry and trade with partners to maintain a competitive edge. On transnational issues like climate change, the administration hopes to work with all nations, where possible, to solve issues of mutual interest. Critics argue that the strategy does not do enough to bolster American forces to combat future aggression by China in the Pacific. They also say it is too ambitious for limited US resources and must prioritize issues to create realistic solutions.
Overall, the document is a continuation of President Biden’s foreign policy focus of strengthening international coalitions to bolster democracy, increase US competitiveness, and counter security threats in Europe and the Indo-Pacific. China has denounced the strategy as pushing “Cold War thinking” that prevents cooperation and increases animosity. The explicit focus on long-term competition and superiority over China is only likely to further cool Beijing-Washington relations and will likely make cooperation on shared issues like climate change more difficult. Read more here.
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