Part I – Regional Security Issue within the Indo-Asia-Pacific Region
The National Security Strategy (NSS) focuses on promoting the security of the United States on the premise that a safe environment is critical toward enhancing the prosperity of the nation. This strategy goes beyond promoting the interests of America and includes safeguarding the interests of partners/allies around the world. Through the strategy, the United States responds to the increasing military, political and economic competitions encountered worldwide. As part of ensuring suitable response to these competitions, NSS includes a regional context strategy through which the United States tailors it approaches to various regions worldwide to protect her national interests.[footnoteRef:1] The United States requires integrated regional strategies that acknowledge the nature and extent of threats, intensity of rivalry, and potential opportunities across all regions. Such strategies become the premise of International Relations and U.S. foreign policy. [1: The White House, “National Security Strategy of the United States of America”, The White House, December 2017, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/NSS-Final-12-18-2017-0905.pdf]

Issue in Indo-Asia-Pacific Region

Indo-Asia-Pacific region is one of the regions targeted by the United States National Security Strategy. It extends from the west coast of India to the United States’ western shores and represent one of the most economically vibrant and populated regions in the world.[footnoteRef:2] America’s interest in this region, which is currently facing competition between free and repressive visions of world order, dates back to the earliest days of the nation. Consequently, the United States establishes political, economic, and military and security priority actions to help safeguard her national interests in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. This process entails developing international relations approaches and foreign policies that seek to protect the interests of the United States in this region. China and Russia are principal priorities for the United States given their long-term strategic competitions within and outside the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. The United States is faced with the need to ensure increased and sustained investments in addressing these principal priorities because of the threats they pose to her national interests and prosperity.[footnoteRef:3] [2: Ibid., 1] [3: Department of Defense, “Summary of the 2018 National Defense Strategy of the United States of America”, National Defense Strategy, 2018, https://dod.defense.gov/Portals/1/Documents/pubs/2018-National-Defense-Strategy-Summary.pdf]

Given the strategic competitions between China and Russia, one of the regional security issues in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region is Russia’s military modernization and actions throughout the region. Moscow constantly plays the role of a spoiler in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region as it seeks to undermine U.S. national interests and impose extra costs on the U.S. and her allies.[footnoteRef:4] Over the past few years, Russia has continued to modernize her military forces on the premise that military power is key to achieving key strategic goals and global influence. As a result, the country continues to invest in nuclear weapons as part of her power projection and deterrence abilities. For example, the Russian military carries out “regular nuclear-capable Tu-95 Bear bomber long-range aviation flights off the coasts of Japan, Korea, Canada, and Alaska.”[footnoteRef:5] In the past few years, Russia has increased investments in military infrastructure, deployed anti-ship missile systems, enhanced control and command abilities, and modernized anti-air abilities in the region. This has generated tensions in the relations between Russia and some countries in the region such as Japan while undermining U.S. national interests in the region. [4: Philip S. Davidson, “Statement of Admiral Philip S. Davidson, U.S. Navy Commander, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Before the House Armed Services Committee on U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Posture”, United States Senate, March 27, 2019, https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Davidson_02-12-19.pdf] [5: Ibid., 4]

Therefore, the United States faces the need to adopt suitable strategies that would help address the emerging threat posed by Russia in her activities in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. Promoting peace in this region is not only critical to U.S. interests, but also essential in enhancing U.S. global influence and prosperity. In line with the goals and objectives of the National Security Strategy, the United States can address the issue using concepts in international relations. International relations concepts would inform and guide U.S. policy in handling...…the general population unless and until China makes concessions. Aerial attacks would also be launched against any Chinese forces in Taiwan’s territory. In this regard, the United States military will provide logistical and tactical support to Taiwan forces in their fight against China. U.S. military will partner with Taiwan forces to create an allied force that will launch aerial attacks against any Chinese forces in Taiwan territory. These aerial attacks will be based on the Douhet model, which is based on the idea that inflicting severe pain on civilians can affect their morale and unravel social bias of resistance in order for citizens to pressure the government to vacate territorial ambitions.[footnoteRef:11] These attacks will be combined with destruction of China’s military production, which will weaken her forces by lessening the aggregate quantities of war materials and weapons. [11: Ibid., 7.]

With regards to space, this coercive air power strategy will entail controlling the adversary’s air space. The United States will focus on obtaining and maintain air superiority over China through controlling air space over Chinese territory. This will be achieved through destruction of China’s military production and weakening Chinese forces. The process will result in decapitation and enable U.S. forces to utilize Chinese air space in strategic bombing of civilians. Through weakening Chinese forces and lessening the overall quantities of war materials and weapons, U.S. forces will control Chinese fielded forces and homeland territory by controlling air space. Since air power is increasingly dependent on the cyber domain in today’s military operations, this strategy will incorporate air-cyber integration.[footnoteRef:12] The United States will establish a robust and secure networked command and control structure to support air power initiatives against China. Cyber specialists will carry out offensive operations against Chinese cyberspace through leveraging opportunities to exploit weaknesses in China’s cyberspace. Cyber capabilities will be combined with the other air power strategies in the war against China. [12: Paul Withers, “Integrating Cyber with Air Power in the Second Century of the Royal Air Force”, Medium, March 4, 2019,…