A new US national security strategy deprioritized China as the military’s top threat, shifting focus to the homeland and Western Hemisphere.
The Pentagon plan calls for the abandonment of “grandiose strategies” and prioritizes diplomacy with Beijing in an effort to deter the superpower “through strength, not confrontation.”
It signals a longer-term goal of reducing Washington’s military role in Europe, East Asia, and the Middle East.
But even as the Pentagon strikes a more conciliatory tone toward Beijing, many in President Donald Trump’s inner circle view the “Donroe Doctrine” — Trump’s focus on the Western Hemisphere — as a show of might that weakens China’s geostrategic influence, Nikkei wrote.