摘要
Abstract
The digital transformation of U.S.military strategy in the Indo-Pacific is propelled above all by a new technological revolution that is reshaping the character of warfare.Against this background,a changing regional balance of power has raised U.S.demand for deterrence against China,prompting Washington to reaffirm its long-standing reliance on technological superiority;the geographic complexity of the theater,which elevates requirements for efficient command and control and cross-domain coordination,has made digital capability the key support for realizing that objective.
Drawing on Arthur Lykke's ends-ways-means framework,this article treats digitalization not as an isolated technological upgrade but as a strategic process reshaping all three components.At the level of ends,U.S.deterrence in the region has evolved from the forward-presence posture of the"rebalance",through denial-oriented capability building,to"integrated deterrence"and its continuation under the second Trump administration,with the model shifting from one dominated by physical presence to one jointly supported by physical presence and information superiority—including systematic shaping of the cognitive domain.At the level of means,digital technologies have become a foundational resource for distributed operations:the United States is rebuilding command and control around Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control and mission-partner platforms,modernizing data and intelligence architecture from platform-dependent toward system-distributed collection supported by cloud and edge computing,and reorienting cyber defense from network-centric toward data-centric protection under zero-trust principles while pursuing systemic resilience.At the level of ways,technological connectivity serves to integrate allied networks through common standards,shared situational awareness,and routinized joint exercises,and is extended into governance through investment in regional digital infrastructure and participation in multilateral rule-setting.
This transformation nonetheless faces structural imbalance.The complexity and opacity of digital systems,the dependence of algorithmic judgment on training data and model assumptions,and the constrained space for human verification all introduce uncertainty,while allied technological interoperability remains limited by divergent standards,uneven willingness to share data,and differing strategic perceptions—producing fragmented progress.These tensions heighten crisis-escalation risks across signaling,decision-making,operational execution,and governance,blurring conventional-nuclear boundaries,compressing decision buffers,creating use-or-lose incentives,and outpacing arms-control and verification mechanisms.
Looking ahead,amid an overall U.S.strategic retrenchment,the Indo-Pacific digital military strategy is likely to concentrate on resilience-oriented digital infrastructure,tiered allied burden-sharing and technological integration,and a deepened posture in cognitive-domain competition—developments that warrant close attention in assessing regional strategic stability.关键词
数字化/"印太"/美国军事战略/人工智能Key words
digitalization/the Indo-Pacific/the U.S.military strategy/artificial intelligence分类
社会科学
