Rise of the Minilateral: A New Model for Geopolitics in the Indo-Pacific

Minilateral engagements like the U.S.-Japan-Korea Summit at Camp David last August and the U.S.-Japan-Philippines trilateral meeting at the White House in April are defining a new U.S. approach to the region—what the Biden administration calls a “latticework” of relationships with the purpose of maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific. With intensified Chinese gray zone activities in the South China Sea, a renewed Russia-North Korea partnership, an exponential increase in cyberattacks across the region, and the emergence of alternative technology supply chains, new strategic alignments are necessary. But how can the United States and its allies and partners address the need to adapt to a new threat landscape without undermining or duplicating existing alliances and partnerships?