US Alliance Policy in Indo-Pacific under Biden Administration
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35516/Hum.2026.10015Keywords:
Alliances, US, China, Indo-Pacific, Threat, Balance.Abstract
Objectives: This study aims to monitor and analyze the significance and purpose of US alliance policy in the Indo-Pacific under Biden administration.
Methods: the study is relying on the balance of threat theory with a focus on Snyder's alliance perception to present a rational analysis to the purpose of the US alliance policy, and its future.
Results: The study proved the validity of its hypotheses that there is a connection between alliance policy and the decline of US power, especially against China. The latter has become a very tremendous power so that the US cannot undermine it alone; it needs the allies. Also, there is a direct connection between the existence of shared values among the allies and the Ease of forming and sustaining alliances.
Conclusions: the study has concluded that China is the most dangerous strategic challenge to US hegemony, and the Indo-Pacific region is the most decisive region in the US-China struggle for global hegemony. The policy of mobilizing alliances is the optimal or most realistic strategy for the US to undermine China's power, especially in the Indo-Pacific. On this basis, the Biden administration revived the Quad and established the Security Alliance AUKUS. Finally, the US alliance policy faces a set of serious challenges, most notably the growing isolationist trend within the US in light of the dominance of the Trumpism phenomenon.
Downloads
References
Anshori, M.F. (2020). Balance of Threat of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue towards China’s Presence in the South China Sea. AEGIS Journal of International Relations, 4(1).
Barbantan, A. (2024). Pacific Dream? The Evolution of US Strategic Culture and Alliances in the Indo-Pacific. Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
Biden, J.R. (2020). Why America must lead again: rescuing U.S. Foreign policy after Trump. Foreign Affairs, 99(2).
Bush, R. C. (2022). An American Strategy for the Indo-Pacific in an Age of Us-China Competition. Policy Brief, Brookings Institution.
Chun, C.S. (2000). Theoretical Approaches to Alliance: Implications on the R.O.K.-U.S. Alliance. Journal of International and Area Studies, 7(2).
Curtis, J. (2022). President Biden's Foreign Policy: One Year in, Research Briefing. UK: The house of Commons Library.
Deb, S., & Wilson, N. (2021). The Coming of Quad and the Balance of Power in the Indo-Pacific. Journal Of Indo-Pacific Affairs.
Foster, J. B., Clark, B. (2024). Imperialism in the Indo-Pacific. Monthly Review, 76(3).
Gosling, L. (2024). Deterring at a distance: The strategic logic of AUKUS. Lowy Institute. https://www.lowyinstitute.org/publications/deterring-distance-strategic-logic-aukus.
Guoping, G. (2022). Three Pillars in the Biden Administration’s China Strategy: Allies, Values, and High-Tech. International Relations and Diplomacy, 10(6).
Grabowski, M. (2021). Joe Biden’s Strategy in the Asia-Pacific Region: Change or Continuity: A Comparative Analysis. Polish Political Science Yearbook, 50.
Heiduk, F., & Wirth, C. (2023). The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue between Australia, India, Japan and the United States. SWP Comment, 31.
Joshi, Y., & Atmakuri, A. (2021). Biden’s Indo-Pacific Strategy: Expectations and Challenges. Institute of South Asian Studies and Sasakawa Peace Foundation, 12.
Khsabah, G., & Salameh, M.(2024). Political Dimensions of Arab-Chinese Relations in Light of China's Belt and Road Initiative during the Period 2013-2021. Dirasat: Human and Social Sciences, 51(3).
Kireeva, A. (2022. Theories of International Relations and Prospects of a Military Alliance Between Russia and China. Russian Journal of World Politics and Law of Nations, 1(1-2).
Kupchan, C., & Kupchan, C. (1995). The Promise of Collective Security. International Security, 20(1).
Koga, K. (2024). Tactical hedging as coalitionbuilding signal: the evolution of Quad and AUKUS in the Indo Pacific. The British Journal of Politics and International Relations.
Koga, K. (2023). Japan’s Role in the Quad Clarifying the Institutional Division of Labor in a Free and Open Indo-Pacific. The National Bureau of Asian Research. https://www.nbr.org/publication/japans-role-in-the-quad-clarifying-the-institutional-division-of-labor-in-a-free-and-open-indo-pacific/.
Lynch, T. (2021). The New Era of Great Power Competition and the Biden Administration Emerging Patterns and Principles. Joint Force Quarterly, 103.
Ufimtseva, A. (2024). US Critical Mineral Policies and Alliance Strategies in an Age of Geopolitical Rivalry. Politics and Governance, (12)8186.
Rafique, S., & Zaman, Z. (2024). Foreign Policy Analysis of the Sino-US Rivalry in the 21st Century. Dyal Singh Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 2(1).
Roper, B. (2024). China’s rise and the United States’ response: implications for the global order and New Zealand/Aotearoa. Part II: The US response, emergence of a multi-polar order, and New Zealand/Aotearoa foreign policy-making. Kōtuitui: New Zealand Journal of Social Sciences Online.
Salameh, M. (2024). Kuwait’s Hedging Strategy Toward Iran and Saudi Arabia. Middle East Quarterly.
Salameh, M.(2023). Bahrain’s Vision in the New Gulf Order. Middle East Policy.
Salameh, M., & Mashagbeh, A. (2018). The American Russian Rivalry in the Middle East. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, (8)1.
Snyder, G. (1997). Alliance Politics. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press.
Snyder, G. (1990). Alliance Theory: A Neorealist First Cut. Journal of International Affairs, 44 (1).
Suparman, S. (2024). Analysis of British Foreign Policy Forming the Australia, United Kingdom, and United States (AUKUS) Security Alliance in 2021. Asian Journal of Engineering, Social and Health, 3(3).
Scott, D. (2018). The Indo-Pacific in US Strategy: Responding to Power Shifts. Rising Powers Quarterly, 3(2).
Tarapore, A. (2023). Zone balancing: India and the Quad’s new strategic logic. International Affairs, 99.
Tien, T., & Trang, N. (2023). America and China in the Asia-Pacific: A new regional Cold War?. Cogent Arts & Humanities.
Wei, Z. (2022). The Biden Administration’s Indo-Pacific Strategy and its Impacts on Asia-Pacific Order. East Asian Affairs, 2(2).
Ye, X. (2022), Alliance Coordination: Explaining the Logic of Biden’s Taiwan Policy. Pacific Focus, Center for International Studies, Inha University, 37(3).
Zhu, Z. (2024). Same Objective, Different Approaches: Comparing Trump’s and Biden’s China Policy. In Renshon, S.A and Suedfeld, P Eds, The Trump and Harris Doctrines Preservationism versus Progressivism in the 2024 Presidential Election, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
Indo-Pacific Strategy of the United States, the White House, February 2022, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/U.S.-Indo-Pacific-Strategy.pdf.
National Security Strategy, the white house, October 12, 2022, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Biden-Harris-Administrations-National-Security-Strategy-10.2022.pdf.
Fact Sheet: 2024 Quad Leaders’ Summit, the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in India, https://in.usembassy.gov/fact-sheet-2024-quad-leaders-summit/.
President Biden and a Dozen Indo-Pacific Partners Launch the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity, FACT SHEET: In Asia, The White House, May 23, 2022, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/05/23/fact-sheet-in-asia-president-biden-and-a-dozen-indo-pacific-partners-launch-the-indo-pacific-economic-framework-for-prosperity/.
Preview of President Biden’s Quad Summit with Mira Rapp-Hooper, NSC Senior Director for East Asia and Oceania, U.S. Department of State, September 19, 2024, https://www.state.gov/briefings-foreign-press-centers/preview-of-president-biden-quad-summit.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Dirasat: Human and Social Sciences
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Accepted 2025-02-03
Published 2026-02-01
