Taiwan,<\/a> Japan and South Korea, where they heard concerns about the impact of the war on energy costs and about the departure of U.S. military assets, including missile defense systems from South Korea and a rapid-response Marine unit from Japan.<\/p>\nShe sought to reassure them of the U.S. commitment to deterring conflicts in Asia and shoring up regional stability.<\/p>\n
\u201cFailure is not an option,\u201d Shaheen told The Associated Press after returning from Asia. \u201cWe know China has already said they intend to take Taiwan by force if they need to, and they\u2019re on an expedited time schedule. And we also know that what happened in Europe, in the war in Ukraine, in the Middle East is affecting those calculations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kurt Campbell, who served as deputy secretary of state in the Biden administration, said he\u2019s worried that the military capabilities that the U.S. had patiently accumulated in the Indo-Pacific region might not return in full even after the Iran war ends.<\/p>\n
The longer the conflict goes on, the more it will pull resources and focus away from Asia, said Zack Cooper, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute who studies the U.S. strategy in Asia. He added that future arms sales to the region also will be negatively affected.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe United States has expended substantial numbers of munitions in the Middle East and will have to keep an increased force presence there, some of which has been redirected from Asia,\u201d Cooper said. \u201cMeanwhile, Xi Jinping\u2019s wisdom in preparing a \u2018war time\u2019 economy by stockpiling and adding alternate energy sources has shown itself to be beneficial.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shaheen said the U.S. defense industry will struggle to meet the demand to replenish the weapons stockpile. \u201cWe\u2019re working on a number of strategies to improve that, but at this point, timelines for weapons delivery are slipping,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
The senator from New Hampshire said she’s encouraged that Taiwan, Japan and South Korea are stepping up their own defense.<\/p>\n
Obama’s strategic rebalance to Asia reflected his understanding that the U.S. must be a player in the Pacific to harness the region\u2019s growth and ensure continued U.S. leadership in the face of China’s rising influence. <\/p>\n
\u201cAfter a decade in which we fought two wars that cost us dearly, in blood and treasure, the United States is turning our attention to the vast potential of the Asia-Pacific region,\u201d Obama said in a speech to the Australian Parliament. \u201cSo make no mistake, the tide of war is receding, and America is looking ahead to the future that we must build.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the strategy was set back when a proposed trade agreement known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership with key U.S. regional partners failed to get through the U.S. Senate. After Trump first took office in 2017, he withdrew the U.S. from the partnership and launched a tariff war with China. <\/p>\n
His Democratic successor, Joe Biden, kept Trump’s tariffs on China and tightened export controls on advanced technology, while strengthening regional alliances to counter China.<\/p>\n
By the time Trump rolled out his national security strategy in late 2025, the U.S. strategy in Asia had been narrowed to military deterrence in the Taiwan Strait and the First Island Chain, a string of U.S.-aligned islands off China’s coast that restrict its access to the Western Pacific.<\/p>\n
The national security document says it’s in the economic interest of the U.S. to secure access to advanced chips, which are sourced primarily from Taiwan and are needed to power everything from computers to missiles, and to protect shipping lanes in the South China Sea. <\/p>\n
\u201cHence deterring a conflict over Taiwan, ideally by preserving military overmatch, is a priority,\u201d the document says. \u201cWe will build a military capable of denying aggression anywhere in the First Island Chain.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Middle East, it says, should be getting less attention: \u201cAs this administration rescinds or eases restrictive energy policies and American energy production ramps up, America\u2019s historic reason for focusing on the Middle East will recede.”<\/p>\n
Then came the Iran war.<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
AP writer Stephen Groves contributed to this report.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n
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