Sharing the Burden: Preparing for Maritime Security Competition in the Indo-Pacific
AI Analysis
China is rapidly expanding and modernizing its military capabilities, including the use of drones and unmanned systems, which is shifting the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific. The U.S. is encouraging its allies to increase their defense contributions to counter China's assertive posture.
Key Takeaways
- China's military modernization includes drones and unmanned undersea vehicles.
- The U.S. is urging Indo-Pacific allies to increase defense spending and capabilities.
- China's assertive military posture impacts regional power dynamics.
- Allies are contributing to regional security but cannot replace U.S. capabilities.
- Investment in unmanned and autonomous systems is prioritized for future defense.
Why It Matters
China's advancements in unmanned systems and drones present a strategic challenge to the Indo-Pacific balance of power, necessitating increased defense cooperation among U.S. allies. This situation underscores the importance of technological innovation and investment in counter-UAS capabilities to maintain regional stability.
Sharing the Burden: Preparing for Maritime Security Competition in the Indo-Pacific
Authors : [DHRUVA JAISHANKAR] | [AMMAR NAINAR] | [DAVID VALLANCE]
Special ReportsPublished on Feb 16, 2026 PDF Download
Sharing the Burden: Preparing for Maritime Security Competition in the Indo-Pacific
- [David Vallance]
- [Ammar Nainar]
- [Dhruva Jaishankar]
Executive Summary
China is undertaking a rapid expansion and modernization of its People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and is adopting a more assertive military posture, with implications for the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific. The United States is urging allies and partners to burden-share, including through contributing to crisis scenarios, improving their self-defense, and supporting regional security missions. This report assesses the capabilities and posture of 14 maritime powers in the Indo-Pacific and concludes that most U.S. allies and partners are already contributing more to their self-defense; that the Quad countries and France are contributing disproportionately to regional security missions; but that no Indo-Pacific power has the capabilities to substitute for the United States in a Taiwan-related military scenario.
In the future, most Indo-Pacific partners and allies of the United States will have to prioritize defense spending and invest in their defense industrial bases. They must also improve their capabilities in naval aviation; long-range strike; expeditionary forces; intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR); spacebased assets; and unmanned and autonomous systems.
I. The Burden-Sharing Challenge in The Indo-Pacific
While the world may be preoccupied with conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, China is preparing for war in the Indo-Pacific. The Indo-Pacific region is home to the largest concentration of the world’s population, several large and dynamic economies, and major military and nuclear powers. China’s rapid economic rise has been accompanied by one of the largest and fastest military modernization efforts in history. This has included the rapid expansion and modernization of its People’s Liberation Army Navy, which has commissioned new aircraft carriers, boasts a growing submarine fleet, and has demonstrated enhanced amphibious landing capabilities. China has also expanded its medium-range ballistic missile and intermediate range ballistic missile capabilities, invested in hypersonic missiles and new delivery systems, hardened shelters for aircraft and missile silos, expanded its maritime militia, and rapidly grown its nuclear weapon arsenal. It has developed asymmetric capabilities, incorporating new technologies such as large unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs), drones, electronic countermeasures, and cyberwarfare systems. Many of these new capabilities were on display at the 2025 Victory Day Parade in Beijing, one of China’s largest military parades in recent years. As part of these