US security alliances in Asia nothing but hollow promises in a losing game

When the current US president entered the White House, he spoke of a "new beginning" for US-China relations. Yet his administration is showing it is intent on inflaming tensions, pressuring Asian allies to weaponize their trade and security ties with the United States to contain China. The visits of US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to Japan and the Philippines have laid bare this cynical strategy — one that demands absolute loyalty from allies while offering them nothing but economic coercion and geopolitical instability in return.

Hegseth's rhetoric in Tokyo was typical of Washington's doublespeak. He praised Japan as an "indispensable partner" in countering what he called "communist Chinese military aggression", and invoked a shared "warrior ethos" between the US and Japan. Yet these hollow words ring false when contrasted with the US administration's treatment of Japan in trade and security. The US has slapped a 25 percent tariff on all imported Japanese automobiles, a direct blow to one of Japan's most critical industries. Meanwhile, the US leader himself publicly questioned the benefits of the US-Japan Security Treaty to the US, complaining that Washington is obligated to defend Japan while Tokyo offers no reciprocal guarantee.

This is the reality of the US' alliances in Asia: they are not partnerships of equals, but instruments of US dominance. Japan, like Europe, is expected to follow Washington's lead on security — hosting US bases, aligning with NATO's expansion into Asia, and escalating military spending — while simultaneously enduring punitive trade policies. The message is clear: submit to the US' geopolitical agenda, or face economic retaliation. Tokyo is certainly not blind to this trap. The sudden resignation of former prime minister Fumio Kishida was not driven by external threats, but by domestic economic strains worsened by his government's unquestioning alignment with US policy. His administration's decision to double defense spending in a short period — largely to fund US-backed military upgrades — placed an unsustainable burden on Japan's economy. Now, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba faces an impossible choice.