The Western Pacific remains a highly active theater defined by sustained U.S.-led military exercises and escalating great power competition. Key evidence includes continuous joint operations, such as RIMPAC 2026 in Hawaii and the deployment of CSGs into the South China Sea, juxtaposed with increased naval activity from both China (PLAN task groups) and Russia near Japan's critical straits. These movements underscore a strategic push by non-allied powers to assert presence and challenge regional norms. Policy implications dictate that allied nations must maintain robust multilateral cooperation and interoperability to safeguard freedom of navigation and manage escalating tensions in the Indo-Pacific.
US and North America Programme
English Summary
Chatham House’s US and North America Programme argues that understanding policy shifts in Washington and Ottawa is essential to navigating wider global realignment. Its reasoning is based on a mix of policy-focused research, expert analysis, and cross-sector convenings that track how North American decisions shape geopolitical, security, and economic outcomes. The programme emphasizes durable structural trends rather than only short-term political cycles, including US-China strategy, trade-policy renegotiation, and evolving alliance structures. For policymakers and strategists in the UK, Europe, and other middle powers, the implication is to prepare for sustained changes in US external behavior through diversified partnerships, adaptive economic strategy, and long-horizon security planning beyond 2028.
中文摘要
英國皇家國際事務研究所（Chatham House）的美國與北美計畫主張，要掌握全球更廣泛的重組態勢，關鍵在於理解華盛頓與渥太華的政策轉向。其論證基礎來自以政策為導向的研究、專家分析，以及跨部門對話與會議，持續追蹤北美決策如何形塑地緣政治、安全與經濟結果。該計畫強調的是可持續的結構性趨勢，而非僅聚焦短期政治週期；相關議題包括美中戰略、貿易政策再談判，以及同盟結構的演變。對英國、歐洲及其他中等強權的政策制定者與戰略規劃者而言，其意涵在於：應透過夥伴關係多元化、具調適性的經濟策略，以及超越 2028 年的長期安全規劃，為美國對外行為的持續變化預作準備。
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