Last US Carrier Leaves Asia as Iran War Drains Pacific Deterrence
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- USS George Washington was moved from Japan to the Middle East to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln, which had been deployed for nine months amid reports of food shortages, broken toilets, unsanitary conditions and at least one attempted suicide.
- The United States had previously moved parts of its THAAD missile defense system from South Korea for use against Iran and drawn down regional missile and munition stockpiles to sustain the war, according to the report.
- China has increasingly pushed its Liaoning and Shandong aircraft carriers past the First Island Chain into the Western Pacific, while Chinese coastguard activity in waters east of Taiwan — overlapping Japan's and the Philippines' exclusive economic zones — has risen since June, analyst William Yang told Al Jazeera.
- The Asia Pacific hosts about 375,000 US military and civilian personnel under US Pacific Command, with tens of thousands stationed in South Korea and Japan; key assets including US Amphibious Ready Groups capable of hosting F-35B stealth fighters remain in the region despite the carrier redeployment.
- The US 2026 National Defense Strategy calls on Asian allies to raise military spending to 3.5% of GDP and security-related spending to 1.5% by the 2030s, with Taiwan announcing an 18% defense spending boost for 2027 and the Philippines pushing for 4% of GDP, per the article.
- Analysts Ja Ian Chong and Kei Koga said the redeployment dents US power projection and may embolden Chinese testing of regional responses, though K Tristan Tang argued Trump's economic interests in China will ultimately pull US assets back to Asia.
Why it matters: With the last US carrier gone from Asia and China pressing past the First Island Chain, the burden of regional deterrence is shifting onto allies: Taiwan is jumping defense spending 18% for 2027, the Philippines is pushing for 4% of GDP, and intra-Asian security cooperation between Tokyo, Manila and Taipei is deepening — a concrete realignment the US 2026 National Defense Strategy explicitly mandates at 3.5% of GDP.
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