The US National Defense Strategy

On January 23, 2026, the US Department of War released a priority-shifting National Defense Strategy (NDS) that chastizes US allies to take control of their own security, and reasserts the Trump administration's focus on dominance in the Western Hemisphere above a longtime goal of countering China. The 34-page document, the first since 2022, signals shifts in US defense strategy and priorities compared to past administrations — including notable differences in how the document discusses the People's Republic of China (PRC). Nevertheless, the NDS continues to emphasize the importance of deterring China in the Indo-Pacific, not through confrontation but through strength. “We will deter China in the Indo-Pacific through strength, not confrontation,” the document says.

Overall, the NDS elaborates a roadmap to implement the White House's National Security Strategy (released in late 2025), though it has some new points of emphasis, some notable elaborations of key objectives and several glaring omissions which reflect altered priorities or impulsive, personality-driven initiatives.

Put simply, the unclassified Strategy is the Donroe Doctrine made manifest. The "rules-based international order" is dismissed as an "abstraction," and the emphasis is on hard power close to home. Inside the document, homeland defense is often perched above or before China and Russia, typically considered top threats. "For too long, the US government neglected — even rejected — putting Americans and their concrete interests first," it begins.