Scholars and researchers have viewed the Asian-Pacific region as one of the historically most defining regions with regards to the foreign relations of the United States. In a region that is continuously growing active, the United States has been coveting the geo-economics and geopolitics advantages from time immemorial. While the U.S strategy towards the region remains the superpower’s most critical, the changing global political landscape is making the ride increasingly rough for the United States. Following that line of thought, some experts have projected that the varying patterns of international politics and economy have given rise to new powers that, just like the U.S, seek to establish their roots in the region (Xiaosong n.d). Thus, it will be imperative for the U.S to rigorously ratify the entire system to keep up with the changing environment and possibly work to its advantage. At this point, Xiaosong (n.d) notes that the future of the United States alliance system in the region hangs in the balance with its fate being a direct function of the steps that the U.S will take in light of the intrusion from other powers who may come in with new and better offers. Contemporarily, the alliance system stands at a critical crossroads. In particular, “the U.S. cannot stop the lust of returning due to the vested interest and the crucial strategic position of the Asia-Pacific Region, but its awkward status quo of being a dominant power may cause numerous difficulties” (Xiaosong n.d, 1-2). The following discussion is based on the fact that the USA preferred bilateral relations in Asia and multilateral relations in the North Atlantic (Hemmer & Katzenstein 2002; He & Feng 2012; Koga 2011), and hence, the absence of NATO in Asia and Hub-and-Spokes.
In line with this discussion, Walt (1997) proposes a prior definitive understanding of what an alliance entails. Accordingly, he notes that this is an informal or a formal engagement for security cooperation between more than one state. As such, one of the main topics in this alliance system is security. According to Walt (1997, p. 158), an alliance defines a special arrangement that would see the partners manage aggression, unlike collective security agreements where the involved parties come together to revolt against any form of aggression. For example, the San Francisco Alliance system, a network of alliances, is among the major alliance systems that have formed the center of US Asia-pacific since World War II came to an end. Using this as an example, Calder (2004) enumerates the features of an alliance system. First, it comprises a tight-knit intertwinement of bilateral alliances. Second, an alliance system excludes multilateral security structures. Third, there is a firm asymmetry in economics and security as packages within the alliance relations. Fourth, the Asia-Pacific alliance system allows liberal trade access to the markets in the US as well as some form of assistance towards development. The basic structure of this system has formed the fabric of other systems and sub-systems even in the face of a paradigm shift, or its need thereof (Koga 2011). However, in light of the changes and emerging threats, some scholars have even proposed a version of an alliance system like the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) (Ross 2012; Wesley 2012). Even then, it remains challenging to ascertain the future of US alliance system in the region, especially given the irregular and unpredictable trend of global politics in and out of the region.