East Asia, Europe and the High Sea: The Geostrategic Trinity of the U.S.-Led Order

The U.S.-led international order rests on a geostrategic trinity, that is: “command of the sea,” and the other global commons such as airspace, outer space and cyber-space, and the preservation of favorable balances of power in East Asia and Europe. The U.S. and its allies’ powers and institutions underpin the international order, while the economic and political rise of China is leading to greater contestation of that order. The Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific are increasingly interconnected, which could create a basis for Europeans to make more of a contribution to security in the Indo-Pacific. The Euro-Atlantic allies should avoid the trap of overpreparing to fight the war in continental Europe, and focus more on how they may contribute to deterring a future war in East Asia, and to the preservation of command of the commons.