Atlantic Council SCOWCROFT CENTER FOR STRATEGY AND SECURITY
Toplines:
The United States and its allies must be ready to deter a two-front war and nuclear attacks in East Asia
Top three ■ A conflict with either China or North Korea poses a grave and growing risk to the national security of the United States, particularly due to the potentials for conflict involving both countries and for nuclear escalation. ■ In coordination with the United States’ allies and partners, US defense and military leaders should therefore expand efforts to ensure preparedness to fight and win a potential conflict in East Asia, even one involving limited nuclear attacks or multiple adversaries simultaneously. ■ The United States should also reduce escalation risks by prioritizing intra-conflict deterrence, fostering expanded multilateral military contributions, and influencing mid-level actors within adversaries’ military structures to enable subregime deterrence.