The U.S. Trump administration’s National Security Strategy (NSS) document issued on Dec. 4, 2025, backs away from earlier, more aggressive formulations defining China as a “strategic enemy” or a “pacing threat,” but under its description of what it now refers to as “strategic competition,” it outlines a clear policy of attempted containment of China. In the “Deterring Military Threats” section of the NSS, the document states:
“We will build a military capable of denying aggression anywhere in the First Island Chain. But the American military cannot, and should not have to, do this alone. Our allies must step up and spend—and more importantly do—much more for collective defense. America’s diplomatic efforts should focus on pressing our First Island Chain allies and partners to allow the U.S. military greater access to their ports and other facilities, to spend more on their own defense, and most importantly to invest in capabilities aimed at deterring aggression. This will interlink maritime security issues along the First Island Chain while reinforcing U.S. and allies’ capacity to deny any attempt to seize Taiwan or achieve a balance of forces so unfavorable to us as to make defending that island impossible.
“A related security challenge is the potential for any competitor to control the South China Sea. This could allow a potentially hostile power to impose a toll system over one of the world’s most vital lanes of commerce or—worse—to close and reopen it at will. Either of those two outcomes would be harmful to the U.S. economy and broader U.S. interests. Strong measures must be developed along with the deterrence necessary to keep those lanes open, free of ‘tolls,’ and not subject to arbitrary closure by one country. This will require not just further investment in our military—especially naval—capabilities, but also strong cooperation with every nation that stands to suffer, from India to Japan and beyond, if this problem is not addressed.”
Here is how a standard Wikipedia entry, citing London’s The Economist magazine, describes the First Island Chain:
“The ‘First Island Chain’ refers to a critical arc of islands in the Western Pacific, stretching from Japan’s Kuril Islands, down through the Japanese archipelago, Taiwan, and the Philippines, to Borneo/Malay Peninsula, forming a natural barrier that restricts China’s naval access to the open Pacific Ocean, crucial for both U.S. strategic containment and Chinese power projection, especially concerning Taiwan’s control.”
Readers are encouraged to refer to a map of the region, such as this one.
.jpg){kind=link}