The United States' regional alliances and partnerships

The United States has a vital geopolitical stake in maintaining its long-standing role as a leading power in the Indo-Pacific region, where �global sea routes coalesce� and much of the world�s commerce traverses. 1 For nearly 70 years, Washington�s network of bilateral security alliances and partnerships in Asia has allowed it to play a critical balancing role there. In the absence of this network, there is a strong case to be made that the region would have been considerably more conflict-ridden and less wealthy than has proven to be the case. Assessing US alliance politics in the mid-1990s when the magnitude of Asia�s new-found wealth was just beginning to emerge as a major factor in global politics, the US Department of Defense�s Office of International Security Affairs summarised the fundamental importance of these bilateral relationships. Allied cooperation with the US was �necessary to deter potential threats, counter regional aggression, ensure regional peace, monitor attempts at proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and help protect sea lines of communication both within the [Asian] region and from the region to the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf�. 2 To this list, one could add the implementation of information-and intelligence-sharing arrangements; the sharpening of force inter-operability via joint military exercises; the effective integration of military hardware and software; and the cultivation of defence burden-sharing habits leading to a more cost-effective and credible collective defence effort. 3