The article is devoted to an important and topical issue - the advancement by the new American administration of an offensive strategy in the Asia-Pacific region (APR), aimed at ensuring the leading role in the region of the United States and its allies and applying, if necessary, the use of force. This strategy has led to a serious shift in the overall situation in the region and to rising tensions. The main target of this strategy is China, which is claimed to be "the only competitor capable of presenting a real challenge to a stable and open international system".

On the one hand, China in recent years has become an important economical partner to the countries of the APR, but its rapid growth and “assertive policy undermining existing status-quo” raised, as it stated by Washington and Tokyo,great anxiety.  A special role in the U.S. policy is given to Japan, which has taken a course towards further strengthening the Japanese-American alliance and enhancing its role in the affairs inthe region and on the world stage.

The concept of a "Free and Open Indo-Pacific region" (FOIP) has been put forward by Washington and Tokyo, as their central strategic doctrine. An important component of this policy is a significant build-up of military efforts by these countries in the APR - in the context of the confrontation with Beijing. Although the situation is reallydangerous and the parties will have to reckon with new circumstances, carefully calibrating their actions, however, each of them, as expected, will try to avoid a direct armed clash that could have unpredictable consequences.