Photo courtesy of Department of Defense
The FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA 2026) places heavy emphasis on the Indo-Pacific, reflecting President Trump’s strategy of deterring China and strengthening U.S. regional power projection. As the annual bill that sets military funding and priorities, it codifies key executive orders, rebuilds military capacity, eliminates wasteful programs, and accelerates investment in advanced technologies such as drones and missile defense.
The Senate’s executive summary underscores this regional emphasis, highlighting deterrence of China and expanded cooperation with allies. The bill fully funds the Pacific Deterrence Initiative baring reductions of U.S. forces or operational control in Korea without certification that such moves serve the national interest and are supported by independent risk assessments.
The NDAA also expands regional partnerships by directing U.S. support for Japan’s development of a counterstrike capability, calling for a report on modernizing the U.S.-Philippines alliance, and launching an initiative to deepen cooperation across allied defense industries. Together, these measures lock in Trump’s broader strategy of restoring American military strength, modernizing alliances, and concentrating U.S. resources in the Indo-Pacific.
Taiwan is a central focus of the NDAA. The bill authorizes $1 billion for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative, including medical and casualty-care support, and directs the Pentagon to co-develop and co-produce uncrewed and counter-uncrewed systems with Taipei.
It also requires assessments of Taiwan’s critical digital infrastructure, calls for streamlined contracting processes to support Taiwanese defense entities, and urges Taiwan’s inclusion in the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) naval exercise, with justification required if the Pentagon declines to invite them.
These provisions build on earlier measures such as the Taiwan Enhanced Resilience Act, which authorized $10 billion over five years and mandated a whole-of-government strategy to counter Chinese influence campaigns. Together, they mark a historic step toward establishing formal military cooperation frameworks with Indo-Pacific allies.
The NDAA extends the vision Secretary of War Pete Hegseth outlined at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on May 30, 2025, where he emphasized restoring military strength, rebuilding deterrence, and a warrior ethos, while noting that as European allies take on more responsibility for their own defense, the United States can shift greater focus to the Indo-Pacific.
Hegseth stressed that U.S. security and prosperity are tied to Indo-Pacific partners. He promised Washington is “here to stay,” but said the U.S. is not imposing ideology or cultural agendas, only working on shared national interests.
Turning to China, Hegseth warned the CCP is preparing to use military force to change the regional balance, especially against Taiwan. He said an invasion would have devastating global consequences. While the U.S. does not seek war, it will not allow allies to be intimidated, and if deterrence fails, America is prepared to fight and win decisively.
To strengthen deterrence, the U.S. is improving forward deployments, helping allies build defense capabilities, and reinforcing defense industrial bases. Hegseth closed by urging urgency, declaring that “those who long for peace must prepare for war,” and calling partners to act now alongside the U.S.
Trump’s first-term “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” strategy framed U.S.-China competition as a struggle between freedom and authoritarianism. In contrast, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s May 2025 Shangri-La Dialogue speech signaled a turn from ideology to warfighting.
The Trump 2.0 administration now prioritizes national interests, sovereignty, and commercial security, relying on bilateral, transactional relationships over multilateral frameworks. This shift is reflected in force posture and training that emphasize combat readiness and hard power projection, with long-range systems such as HIMARS, NMESIS, and Typhon deployed more densely alongside expanded amphibious and island-control exercises.
Exercise Balikatan, a U.S.-led joint naval drill, has long been the cornerstone of U.S.-Philippines military relations. Under President Trump, it underwent a dramatic transformation. In 2017, during his first term, the drills were smaller and centered on humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, and logistics, with limited combat training.
By 2025, Balikatan had become the largest in its history, involving over 14,000 U.S. and Philippine personnel alongside hundreds from Japan and Australia. The exercise shifted from “risk prevention” to direct deterrence, featuring live-fire drills in Palawan, the deployment of HIMARS and NMESIS systems, amphibious operations, and island defense scenarios.
International participation expanded as well, with observers from four European nations, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Lithuania, and Poland, joining 15 other countries including India, Indonesia, the UK, France, and South Korea. Balikatan now functions not only as bilateral training but as a multilateral demonstration of deterrence against China’s growing assertiveness.
Strategically, Balikatan 2025 signaled a decisive turn toward combat readiness. Scenarios simulated full-scale battles facing Taiwan and the South China Sea, while a major maritime strike off Zambales drew attendance from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. These drills reflect the Trump administration’s shift from symbolic presence to a doctrine of peace through strength, demonstrating readiness to fight in order to prevent conflict.
A revised Indo-Pacific strategy document, expected in early 2026, is likely to formalize this approach, prioritizing military deterrence, bilateral partnerships, and greater burden-sharing by allies, while reducing soft power initiatives and foreign aid.
The overall trajectory marks a fundamental shift toward a more militarized, transactional model of engagement, unprecedented defense spending paired with reduced reliance on diplomatic and economic tools. The Trump administration has made clear that the best deterrent against war with China is a demonstration of power and a revived “warrior ethos,” not participation in multilateral aid or trade agreements.
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