Indo-Pacific: Invest heavily in naval power projection

America's National Defense Strategy (NDS) was released earlier this month.

- HARSH V. PANT & KARTIK BOMMAKANTI

It came in the backdrop of the US National Security Strategy (NSS) and two key developments: America's capture of Venezuela's former leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife in January and US President Donald Trump' demand that Denmark surrender the autonomous island of Greenland to the US, for which this Arctic isle is said to hold national-security significance.The NDS, which is meant to guide the US Pentagon, is not a major departure from the NSS in its emphasis on the defence of the Western hemisphere and securing the American homeland. This was visibly demonstrated by the capture of Maduro and Trump's incessant threats to take control of Greenland. Irrespective of the motivation behind Washington's decision to align the NDS with strong hemispheric defence, the NDS's narrowed view of US defence strategy globally is consistent with the NSS. Three aspects of the NDS stand out.