Since the mid-1990s, the United States has been building up its military capabilities in response to growing uncertainty and various practical problems in the Asia-Pacific region. In particular, after the September 11 attacks, the United States began to reduce its reliance on large bases, rebalance its forces, and deploy offensive weapons while increasing their size and sophistication. In this process, the United States has sought to deploy at least six aircraft carriers and 60% of its naval forces in the Pacific. The total number of troops in the Pacific region, which includes Guam, Hawaii and Alaska, is about 136,000 and could quickly rise to more than 300,000 in the future. The total number of US forces in the Western Pacific is 85,000, including about 29,000 in South Korea, 35,000 in Japan, 3,000 in Guam and small numbers in Singapore and Southeast Asia. There are also plans to deploy 16,000 troops to the 7th Fleet in East Asia. These regions are defence outposts supporting the strategic rear of the US military in the Asia-Pacific region, and China in particular sees US military power deployed in Guam and Japan as the most threatening.

The United States focuses on deploying its military power in Guam, including strategic bombers, nuclear submarines, guided missile fleets and ammunition depots. The military power deployed here is used to provide the 7th Fleet with information about the waters near China. The geographic, naval and air advantages of strategic bases such as Guam control China's maritime capabilities, and the United States aims to make Guam the best military base in the Western Pacific.

In addition to its military power, the US seeks to exert strong political influence in Asia. Other East Asian countries, with the exception of North Korea, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, have close ties to the military cooperation and political relations protected by the United States. The US political dominance in East Asia has long made it the dominant force in the region as a powerful maritime balancer. It also demonstrated its strong political influe nce and ability to execute during the US return to East Asia. It rapidly expanded its political influence in the sinking of the Cheonan-class warship, the collision between a Chinese fishing boat and a Japanese Coast Guard patrol boat, and the Nansha and Spratly Island disputes in the East and South China Seas.