Experts have told Newsweek that the island chain strategy, which was formulated by the United States during the Cold War, remains relevant today in containing Washington’s near-peer competitor, China, as Beijing attempts to push American forces further away from it. The U.S. strengthened its military deployment in the Asia-Pacific region with “a zero-sum mentality out of its own selfish interests,” heightening regional tensions and jeopardizing regional peace and stability, the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., told Newsweek. “We will be present in the Indo-Pacific. We’re not going to live in a world in which China bullies our partners and allies in the Indo-Pacific,” a U.S. State Department spokesperson told Newsweek, adding that the U.S. remains committed to its allies and partners in the region, including when China engages in “dangerous or coercive actions.”
Island Chains: Can the US’s Cold War Strategy Still Contain China? – Newsweek
