Risks created by escalating strategic competition in the Pacific Islands

On June 6, 2012, US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta completed a nine-day visit to the Asia-Pacific region. During this visit, he reaffirmed the policy of "strategic displacement to the East", and stated that "60% of the US Navy warships will be deployed in the Pacific Ocean <.> L. Panetta had close contacts with the military officials of the respective countries, separate meetings with officials of Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia and Australia, demonstrating the clear intention of the United States to strengthen its military alliance with the above countries <.> After a visit to Singapore, L. Panetta made visits to Vietnam and India, which are not allies of the United States, discussed defense cooperation, military procurement and other issues. Pentagon officials said that the purpose of L. Panetta's visits to these countries is to develop new partnerships. The announcement of plans to move most of the American ships to the Asia-Pacific region by 2020 was followed by a statement from the Russian side: “We will continue cooperation between our military,” V.V. Putin said to Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping in Beijing, where he is attending a regional security and stability summit and will later meet with his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao.”Armed clashes in the Asia-Pacific region are a way to declare a strong position, since in the case of insufficiently active behavior in the region, one can be left on the sidelines. In general, several trends can be noted in the 2010s: bilateral disputes over the islands are drifting towards trilateral and multilateral ones; clearly defined military-political alliances with a large number of participants appeared; local chronic conflicts are transferred to a different state. The rivalry is becoming more and more maritime, deepening the rift between maritime and continental Asia, as is evident in the insular sections of national borders. The Asian security model, historically based on the diplomacy of integration organizations and bilateral negotiations, obviously does not contribute to mutual understanding in territorial disputes. The spatial system of the Asia-Pacific region, in which the provision of regional stability (status quo) was supported by the forces of the “environment” - ““background” countries capable of neutralizing all the leading poles, or at least one powerful pole”, is shifting to “the undeniable predominance of different but always a strictly limited circle of the most powerful states. The modern leadership system of the Pacific Ocean is built around the powers of the "sea", investing all their efforts in the military-political cooperation of a new level.List of referencesBalmasov, S. 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