191012-M-SQ016-0093

U.S. Marine, Philippine Marine and Japan Ground Self-Defense Force members assault amphibious vehicles line up along the shore following an amphibious exercise as part of KAMANDAG 3 at Katungkulan Beach, Marine Barracks Gregorio Lim, Philippines, Oct. 12, 2019. KAMANDAG helps participating forces maintain a high level of readiness and responsiveness, and enhances combined military-to-military relations, interoperability, and multinational coordination. KAMANDAG is an acronym for the Filipino phrase “Kaagapay Ng Mga Manirigma Ng Dagat,” which translates to “Cooperation of the Warriors of the Sea,” highlighting the partnership between the U.S. and Philippine militaries. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Harrison Rakhshani)

Security Cooperation and Campaigning

Published May 5, 2026
By Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategies, Plans, and Capabilities

What approaches to active campaigning and burden sharing enable improved access and influence with partners for effective deterrence?

Murphy, Lt. Col. Jordan, "Assuring the Republic of Korea through Nuclear Sharing: A Blueprint for an Asian Ally," AWC Strategic Studies Paper, 2019, 33 pgs.
Sayers, Michael, "Balancing Basing: How the US Decides to Close Overseas Military Bases," SAASS thesis, 2025, 98 pgs.
- What approaches to active campaigning and burden sharing enable improved access and influence with partners for effective deterrence? Sayers provides insights into maintaining access and influence with partners by emphasizing the importance of providing security assistance and economic benefits to host nations while remaining highly sensitive to their domestic politics. He notes that the U.S. historically secures and maintains basing access by offering economic and political shelter to smaller states, such as the initial protection from Soviet threats provided to Iceland at Keflavik Air Base, which created a mutually beneficial relationship that deterred aggression. To proactively improve and preserve this access for effective deterrence, Sayers recommends that the U.S. must anticipate rather than merely react to host-nation political volatility. He suggests that policymakers employ approaches that prioritize continuous political risk assessments, maintain flexible security agreements, and deliberately cultivate diversified regional alternative bases, ensuring the U.S. retains negotiating leverage and operational access even when local populations begin to challenge the U.S. presence.
Sweet, Maj. Jefferson, "Finding Credible Stability: How to Capitalize on Multinational Synergy in United States Indo-Pacific Command," AFGC thesis, 2025, 42 pgs.
- Sweet addresses this by advocating for a modern "Pacific Pact" that implements a mutually beneficial manpower and resource burden-sharing policy to deter Chinese aggression. To operationalize this burden sharing, he recommends that the U.S. support amending Japan’s constitution to allow for offensive military action, empowering Japan to lead centralized planning efforts for the alliance. Furthermore, Sweet proposes that the U.S. leverage the Quad-plus nations for self-sufficient installations focused on oceanic trade route monitoring and intelligence collection, while the original Quad countries provide permanent strategic basing for military forces, ensuring that allies and partners shoulder a fair share of the responsibility to protect against common threats.