Page 16 - 2018 Defense White Paper

2. Defense Policies and Military Developments of Neighboring
Countries

While the United States maintains its military superiority in Northeast Asia, China, Japan,

and Russia are vying to build up their military strength, mainly their naval and air forces. [Chart
1-1] below summarizes the military strength of the four countries that surround the Korean
Peninsula.

| United States | In the 2017 National Security Strategy (NSS) and the 2018 National
Defense Strategy (NDS), the United States set its core strategic goals as protecting the

homeland, promoting national prosperity, preserving peace through strength, and advancing
American inf luence. It underscored the need to maintain its military superiority to use strength
to support its ef forts to meet the objectives. Meanwhile, having classif ied China and Russia as
revisionist powers, the United States is in long-term competition with the two countries in all

areas including politics, economy, and military.
Under the Indo-Pacif ic Strategy, the United States is bolstering cooperation with existing

allies and partners, and seeking opportunities for new partnerships and multilateral cooperation
that respect the sovereignty of the countries in the region and promote the prosperity of all
parties. As part of such ef forts, the United States is building an expanded security network by
strengthening bilateral ties in the region and cooperation with the ASEAN as well as boosting

smaller-scale multilateral cooperation, as seen in the Korea – United States – Japan, United
States – Japan – Australia, and United States – Japan – Australia – India relationships. The
United States has also emphasized the need to defend freedom of navigation in accordance with

international laws, resolve conf licts peacefully, denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, and preserve
the nonproliferation regime in Northeast Asia. In line with these policies, it renamed the Pacif ic
Command as the Indo-Pacif ic Command in May 2018, and expanded the U.S. military presence

in the region and stepped up military drills and security cooperation.

14 Chapter 1 Changes and Challenges in the Security Environment