Alliance for a New Era: US and Japan Signal a New Division of Labor in Indo-Pacific Security

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The US has completed its shortened Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercises with South Korea, including the world’s largest computerized command and control (C2) simulation. It comes as the Trump administration says the US is not retreating from Asia, but redesigning how it defends the Indo-Pacific. Meanwhile, Japan is actively expanding its military role across the First Island Chain and boosting its alliances with India and Australia. Is Washington reducing its commitment to Asia — or building a new alliance architecture based on stronger regional partners? And what do the recent actions of Japanese PM Takaichi Sanae and Defense Minister Koizumi Shinjiro signal for Tokyo’s future strategy in the region? In this episode, we examine the UFS exercise, Japan's alliance building, and the emerging division of labor between the US and its allies in the Indo-Pacific. *Recorded on August 20, 2026 at 2pm Taiwan Standard Time Host: Wen-Ti Sung Producer: Chinyeh Chiang Videographer: Celest Kao Our guests: Bryce Barros - Institute for National Defense and Security Research (INDSR) Visiting Fellow K. Tristan Tang - Taiwan Defense Studies Initiative Co-Founder

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