Networked Alliances: U.S. Cyberspace Strategy in the Indo-Pacific

Abstract

The last decade has brought about two major developments in United States strategy: a “pivot to Asia” that has been pursued since the end of the Obama administration, and the emergence of cyberspace as a principal venue of competition and conflict with great-power adversaries. In spite of this, there is very little overlap between the two, and the United States strategy for the Indo-Pacific lacks clarity and specificity about its interests in cyberspace beyond outmoded and region-agnostic normative statements promoting generic norms or ‘responsible behavior.’ As a result, there does not exist a whole-of-government strategy for competing in cyberspace in the Indo-Pacific, informed by the technical idiosyncrasies of the region and aligned with greater area-specific foreign policy priorities. This report leverages a mixed-methods approach to characterize the development of United States cyberspace strategy in the Indo-Pacific during the first Trump and Biden administrations and to evaluate its effectiveness for achieving United States objectives in the region. The development of this regional cyberspace strategy exhibited remarkable continuity between administrations, with subtle maturation of values and some limited increases in specificity of desired outcomes relevant to the Indo-Pacific. The first Trump administration played a key role in advancing regional military capabilities in cyberspace and introducing the “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” paradigm, and the Biden administration continued this progress by developing diplomatic cyberspace initiatives and synchronizing interagency approaches through a unified White House regional strategy. Based on semi-structured interviews with United States government experts based in the region, technical information about the state of cyberspace in the Indo-Pacific, and meta-analysis of United States government sources and external commentary, this report finds the following insights: 1. Though alliances are an essential factor of United States Indo-Pacific strategy, there are technical and trust-based barriers to cyberspace cooperation, which is a major factor for the security posture of the region in military contingency 2. Due to cultural and economic factors, human-computer interaction in the Indo-Pacific differs from that of other regions due to heavy reliance on mobile phones for internet connectivity and country-specific social media monopolies. 3. While the United States articulates a desire to combat government censorship and surveillance, and in spite of a growing trend of digital authoritarianism in the region, there are many countries where other priorities outweigh these norms. 4. The United States possesses excellent region-centric cyberspace capabilities at the tactical and operational level across stakeholder agencies, but there is no known interagency strategy to coordinate these capabilities effectively. 5. The private sector plays a major role in implementing United States cyberspace interests in the Indo-Pacific, including for providing third-party cybersecurity services and building trusted critical communications infrastructure. 6. While there is ample technical and regional expertise in the United States government, leaders do not possess the understanding of cyberspace issues to leverage them to their highest potential, despite recognizing their importance. Based on the above insights, this report argues that while the United States has effective capabilities to achieve its interests in cyberspace, it is hampered by the absence of an integrated strategy that leverages regional expertise to synchronize those capabilities effectively in the Indo-Pacific. Therefore, this report argues the following: 1. The United States government, under the direction of the National Cyber Director, must develop and articulate an Indo-Pacific Cyberspace Strategy that aligns all capabilities to regional interests and realities. 2. The Indo-Pacific Cyberspace Strategy must assert that cyberspace activities are a top priority for realizing United States regional interests for cyberspace, and must allocate resources and attention accordingly. 3. The Indo-Pacific Cyberspace Strategy must coordinate objectives across all stakeholder United States government agencies, present a unified, enduring vision, and account for cross-cutting issues in cyberspace. With cyberspace as an area of pressing need, it is imperative that the United States government have the top-level strategic direction necessary to leverage its capabilities effectively, compete with adversaries, and ensure that its vision for the Indo-Pacific can be realized in all domains.