Indo-Pacific a New Goosebump: Why the USA Will Survive?

An MV-22 Osprey flies by the aircraft carrier Nimitz in the South China Sea on Feb. 11, 2023. (MC2 Justin McTaggart/U.S. Navy)

by Burree Sultan   5 September 2023

Graham Allison’s power transition theory explains the collision of the rising power and existing power as the inevitable procession, which is also known as the Thucydides Trap. The theory takes its concepts from the ancient Greek conceptualizations of the power politics and wars between Sparta and Athens which are also known as the Peloponnesian War highlighted by then-philosopher Thucydides. United States which enjoyed and still obtained the position of global dominance. But, history is brute which proved that the changing shadows of the powers remained from one hand to the other hand 19^th century remained the cold witness of the dominance of the British and it was proclaimed that there would be always a rising sun for the Britain’s history proved wrong in the context of the Britain, the Romans claimed the same stigma, the Muslims also remained in the same fiction. History is witness to the rise and the fall of the Great Empires. Undoubtedly, China is a rising global power, there is the highest Purchasing Power Parity of China globally, the substantial dominance in the global checkpoints has also been enumerated by China but still, there is the dominance of the USA in this phenomenon change.

Geopolitics is one of the most important aspects in the form of global dominance while there is no denying the fact that the US always preferred to prioritize geopolitical dominance on the other hand sea dominance has got impeccable results of the importance 20^th century onward, especially by looking into the Mahanian conceptualization of the theoretical framework is often associated with the dominance of the sea power and most importantly the dominance of the geopolitics would be ultimately designed to control the entire segment of the world, in this context there is high values of the sea under this prisms. Now the era of economic superiority, the time went off when the military might be the main pillar of power. Similarly, the time has not changed and the economic might is the actual might of any country for this, there is an entire significance of the sea and the control over the sea lanes where the actual movements of the trade are done. Trade is the main power of any country, there is vivid experience of the competition between China and the USA in this respect.

The Indo-Pacific is a new chessboard in the power games at the global level. The Indo-Pacific which consists of the Indian Ocean Region and the Western Pacific begins from eastern Africa and passes through East and South Asia to the South China Sea. Today, the global economy is based upon the gravity of the maritime strategy and the shaping geopolitical outcomes in the 21^st century. Alfred Mahan an American-based historian and naval strategist argued that “Whoever controls the Indians Oceans dominates Asia. This ocean is key to seven seas in the twenty-first century, the destiny of the world will be decided in these waters. “Due to this, the values of the Indo-Pacific increased enormously and epicenter in the geopolitical sphere.

Indo-Pacific is a new chess game in global politics especially in the context of China and the United States. China’s Belt and Road Initiatives which mainly target the majority areas of the Indo-Pacific Ocean is very important to note and maintain the significance in the context of the new competition. The Belt and Road Initiative covers more than 65 countries from different continents and that have the inclusions of the Indo-Pacific Chinese tactics of engaging different countries through aid and security like the example of the Soloman Island where China has invested and offered the security agreement with Soloman island, this is one of the important developments in this regard.

Chinese bolstered its economic ties with the Pacific Island, Sri Lanka is another example of it, Chinese significantly won the situation there, especially that of the economic vulnerabilities of the Lankans. Chinese footprints in the islands of the Pacific like another example of Micronesia, that of the example of the Marshall Island is very important. Chinese strategy to count down the influence of the USA in the region by dispensing a new military presence in the region is also noted by the USA. Gaum and CNMI where the interests of the United States of America are very high, but the constant engagement of the Chinese on the Island is also important to note in this regard.

China’s strong position in the South China Sea. China’s sweeping claims of the South China Sea is one of the alarming claims of China which includes many Islands that the Taiwanese claim as part of mainland China. China has influential interests in the region like 11 billion barrels of untapped oil and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas estimated by the reports of BBC. While the USA maintains important interests in ensuring freedom of navigation and securing the sea lines of communication (SLOCs), has expressed support for an agreement on a binding code of conduct and other confidence-building measures.

On the other hand, the United States also gaging up its preparedness in the context of the Chinese engagements in the Indo-Pacific region and the sea. The United States has taken multiple measures to counter the influence of China in this respect, first, the USA is maintaining its military presence in the Indo-Pacific with alliances and counter-alliance formulas in this regard. The US Navy conducts regular freedom of navigation exercises (FONOPs) in the South China Sea to challenge the excessive maritime claims of China. QUAD Alliance is also one of the significant steps taken by the USA to be more effective and counter-productive in this regard. The inclusion of India is one of the important steps in policymaking to secure the national interest of the USA. Similarly, to counter the overemphasized and highly ambitious project of China named BRI is also taken by the USA to counter down by appealing B3W as a counter-productive measure against China. Twain’s support by the USA and other diplomatic moves like that of engaging the diplomatic efforts in the ASEAN region and inclusivity of the region as an equal partnership by the USA is also an important step taken by the USA.

There are some very important measures the USA policymaking must include on highly efficient grounds in this regard. The USA must counter the immense threats of Chinese cyber threats as its best defensive mechanism. The USA must effectively highlight the human rights violations of China which is a basic moral principle of the USA constitution and is necessary for the soft power projections of the USA instead of all truths that the mechanics of the value additions in this regard, the role of the media projection is vital in this context to overdue the importance of the USA.