“The Biden administration has found a receptive ear in Asian capitals for pushing back on China’s territorial expansion. It is getting increased buy-in for the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue from Japan, as well as from long-wary partners India and Australia, which recently began military exercises together again after a long pause. And the new team is trying to make strides with Japan and South Korea by burying the hatchet on negotiations over the cost of hosting U.S. troops there…

“‘Basically every state should be focused on its own defense. We’re already in huge trouble with a central front such as the first island chain’ from Japan through the South China Sea, said Elbridge Colby, a principal at the Marathon Initiative and a former deputy assistant secretary of defense during the Trump administration. ‘From a military perspective, I don’t think we’re heading for an Asian NATO…'”

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