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Dewey Sim

The Pentagon’s reported plans to focus on domestic and regional threats over countering China signals an “inevitable” waning of Washington’s global power, according to a retired People’s Liberation Army (PLA) officer.
The shift might be bad news for Taiwan, he warned.
US news outlet Politico reported on Friday that Pentagon officials had urged the Department of Defence to prioritise protecting the homeland and western hemisphere, marking a shift in its focus on its adversaries including China and Russia.
The suggestions were made in a draft of the newest National Defence Strategy, a report that typically comes out at the start of each administration.
“This is going to be a major shift for the US and its allies on multiple continents”, the Politico report quoted one unidentified person briefed on the draft document as saying.
“The old, trusted US promises are being questioned,” the person added.
The 2018 National Defence Strategy – released during the first Trump administration – described China in its opening paragraphs as a “strategic competitor using predatory economics to intimidate its neighbours while militarising features in the South China Sea”.
The 2022 National Defence Strategy, under president Joe Biden, also named China as “the most comprehensive and serious challenge” to US homeland security.


Zhou Bo, a PLA senior colonel who is now a senior fellow with the Centre for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University, said that if the report was accurate, “it would signify that the US’ global power is shrinking”.
“This process is inevitable because the US no longer has the national strength to sustain its presence around the world,” Zhou said, likening the move to efforts by the Trump administration to bring manufacturing back to the United States.
“It’s about consolidating and readjusting its power.”
Zhou, who spent four decades with the PLA, said the proposed change in focus was a “significant shift” – as the US had long framed China as its primary strategic competitor.
Reports of the shift come at a time when concerns over China’s growing military power remain strong. Last week, Beijing showed the world a snapshot of its military prowess in a massive parade to commemorate 80 years since the end of World War II, where it unveiled its latest and most advanced weaponry.


Countries in the Indo-Pacific are also questioning US commitment to the region, particularly in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait, amid mixed signals from the Trump administration.
Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. Most countries, including the US, Taiwan’s biggest international backer, do not recognise the self-governed island as an independent state. However, Washington is opposed to any forcible change to the status quo and is legally bound to arming Taiwan for defence.
“For Taiwan, this is obviously not good news,” Zhou said, adding that the Pentagon’s shift indicated America was becoming increasingly inward-focused.
“When [the US is] struggling to manage its own challenges, it’s unlikely to have much energy to focus on external matters. This isn’t promising for Taiwan.”


Muhammad Faizal Abdul Rahman, a research fellow at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, pointed to “chaos and inconsistency” in the second Trump administration’s global policies. This included imposing punitive tariffs on its allies and partners while demanding that they do more to counter China and Russia, Faizal said.
He said the proposal to prioritise the homeland, which suggested a scaling down of US presence around the world, was the latest example of such policy inconsistency. “[This] adds to the existing concerns of allies and partners about the reliability of the US security guarantee.”
While defence cooperation between the US and Taiwan was still functioning, there may be a risk of domestic politics in the US fundamentally changing its defence strategy, rendering the interests of allies and partners less crucial, Faizal said.
“Beijing might view this development with some positivity if it means the US potentially reducing military and other material support to US-led ‘hub and spokes’ alliances in the Indo-Pacific. But chaos and inconsistency in Trump 2.0 makes it risky for Beijing to celebrate too early,” he added.
According to the Politico report, the Pentagon’s shift in focus is already under way, as seen in the deployment of National Guard troops to support law enforcement in Los Angeles and Washington, and sending multiple warships and fighter jets to the Caribbean to prevent the flow of drugs to the US.
However, Zhou said even if the Pentagon were to switch gears on its priorities, arm sales to Taiwan were unlikely to be markedly affected. Weapons sales generated profits for the US, and this was “aligned with American interests”, he noted.
“The US might expect Taiwan to bolster its military capabilities, and selling more weapons to Taiwan will be part of that process,” he said.
Western hemispheric security against China’s rising military power can’t be had without a strong US defence perimeter in the first island chain
David Arase, Hopkins-Nanjing Centre
US Senator Roger Wicker, chairman of the Senate armed services committee and a strong Taiwan supporter, said after his visit to the island last month that he expected “joint production and joint efforts” on weapons production, as Taipei had pushed for.
David Arase, resident professor of international politics at the Hopkins-Nanjing Centre, offered a different reading of the situation, saying he still expected the US to bolster Taiwan’s defence despite what could be a change in its strategic priorities.
He said this was because “western hemispheric security against China’s rising military power can’t be had without a strong US defence perimeter in the first island chain”.
The “first island chain” – which runs through Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines – refers to a US containment strategy to restrict Chinese military access to the Pacific Ocean.
“Taiwan is the keystone of this structure and if anything, the Pentagon will further bolster Taiwan defence,” Arase said.
“In fact, the focus on US hemispheric security makes it imperative that US defence cooperation with Taiwan … remains a defensive bulwark that bottles up Russian and PLA Navy force projection that would otherwise threaten Alaska, Hawaii, and the US west coast.”


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Military

US Defence Department officials have reportedly called for prioritising domestic and regional threats over countering China


US Defence Department officials have reportedly called for prioritising domestic and regional threats over countering China.


Why Pentagon’s homeward shift may signal US power decline in ‘bad news’ for Taiwan

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}US Defence Department officials have reportedly called for prioritising domestic and regional threats over countering China

US Defence Department officials have reportedly called for prioritising domestic and regional threats over countering China