WASHINGTON, August 11. /TASS/. The United States plans to expand its military presence in the Indo-Pacific and build a deterrence infrastructure, Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby said.

"We are actively expanding our forward posture, accelerating the delivery of hard combat capabilities to the theater, and building out the physical architecture of a true denial defense," he said during a visit to the Philippines. The Department of War’s press service quoted the official as saying.

Colby said the US priority was to "field a fully operational, resilient architecture of denial defense stretching along the First Island Chain," from Malaysia to Japan. Washington plans to build infrastructure with regional partners to "sustain combat-credible power where it matters most" and, in particular, preposition additional forces and assets in the Western Pacific.

Colby stressed that "America is definitely not disengaging from Asia," but wanted its Indo-Pacific partners to take on greater responsibility for their defense. "When we ask our allies and partners to step up, to invest more in their own defense, and to take responsibility for their own sovereign security, we are not signaling abandonment," he said. "We are looking for partners, not protectorates," Colby added.

The official noted that the United States was already investing in joint infrastructure, while four patrol boats were working with the Philippine Coast Guard. The Pentagon is also stepping up practical cooperation with Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore. Besides the Philippines, Colby will visit other countries in the region, including Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia.

The US National Defense Strategy, published in December, says that the Indo-Pacific will be the site of some of the key geopolitical and economic battles of this century. The document also says that long-term US policy toward China does not seek to bring about regime change there or otherwise confront the country.