Amid rising global trends in militarization, the Asia-Pacific has clearly not remained an exception. Whether driven by China’s rise, growing ambiguity surrounding U.S. overseas security commitments through issues such as Taiwan, the QUAD, and AUKUS, or the threats posed by North Korea’s nuclear armament, the region is undergoing a significant qualitative and quantitative shift toward hard power. This transformation is reflected in developments such as President Trump’s approval of high-cost and sophisticated arms sales to Taiwan, China’s uncompromising posture toward Taiwan alongside its accelerating military modernization, Japan’s gradual departure from its post-Second World War pacifism following constitutional reinterpretations, and rising defense expenditures in countries such as India and South Korea. Trump’s Beijing visit has introduced a further layer of strategic ambiguity, raising questions about whether U.S. security commitments to regional partners are subject to transactional recalibration within the broader context of U.S.-China relations. Collectively, these developments are reshaping debates surrounding the future of the regional security architecture.
This session will examine the emerging security dynamics of the Asia-Pacific from a distinctly regional perspective. Through discussions centered on evolving security risks and the strategic responses of regional actors, the session will explore both the broader geopolitical significance of the Taiwan issue and the implications of renewed militarization and the return of hard power for the regional security landscape. Rather than reducing the Asia-Pacific to the framework of U.S.-China strategic competition, the session seeks to prioritize the region’s internal dynamics, strategic cultures, and security calculations in understanding the evolving geopolitical balance across the Asia-Pacific.
Discussion Themes:
- To what extent is the Asia-Pacific witnessing a structural shift toward militarization, and what are the primary drivers behind this transformation?
- If the Trump-China summit signals a transactional recalibration of U.S. commitments in the Asia-Pacific, does this accelerate regional actors’ drift toward strategic autonomy, or does it deepen the security dilemmas already reshaping the region’s hard power landscape?
- What implications do regional security frameworks such as AUKUS and the QUAD have for the future regional security architecture and balance of power in the Asia-Pacific?
- How are regional actors such as Japan, India, and South Korea redefining their security doctrines in response to evolving geopolitical tensions?