Report on the Military Activities of Non-US Extra-Regional Countries in the Western Pacific in 2025

Treść źródłowa

The following “Report on the Military Activities of Non-US Extra-Regional Countries in the Western Pacific in 2025” was released by the South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative (SCSPI) in Beijing on May 25, 2026PrefaceIn recent years, European countries like the UK, France, and Germany, along with US allies such as Australia and Canada, have notably increased their military presence in the Western Pacific region, including the South China Sea, East China Sea, Sea of Japan, and the Philippine Sea. Among various underlying motives, the most prominent view is that, against the backdrop of intensified US-China strategic competition, their deployments and activities in the region are meant to align with the US Indo-Pacific strategy and its competition with China.On a broader scale, the Western Pacific is experiencing increasing prosperity alongside a rise in frequent geopolitical hotspots. As the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait become “trendy spots”, for Western countries that are either unsatisfied with exerting influence solely within their own regions or have imperial and colonial traditions, strengthening their presence in the Western Pacific is a significant measure to project global influence and uphold the “rules-based international order”. Beyond symbolic gains, there are tangible benefits: the substantial enhancement of political, economic, and military ties with Asia-Pacific countries through military activities and presence. Specifically, the considerations of each extra-regional country vary greatly.However, compared to the US military, the military a…