Category:Pacific Rim Alliance

From Gothpoodle

Early in the 21st century, American involvement in the Far East sometimes clashed with local interests. Korean reunification proceeded in spite of American diplomacy rather than because of it. American saber-rattling aimed at China unnerved its regional allies, particularly Japan. Meanwhile, the presence of American armed forces in the region came to be an irritant to Asian powers increasingly willing to undertake their own defense. The United States’ withdrawal from the region was slow, and did not begin until Korean unification and the return of Taiwan to China were both clearly inevitable. American forces withdrew from Japan and Korea first; in response, the two nations signed their own mutual-defense treaty in 2030. Australia joined the new alliance in 2036, due more to concern over Indian or Indonesian aggression than any breakdown of relations with the United States. From the core formed by these three partners, the Pacific Rim Alliance grew.

In 2100, the PRA is a major player in the balance of power worldwide. The alliance’s major partners have very different societies, with minarchism supreme in Australia, gerontocracy in Japan, and cut-throat capitalism in Korea. Despite these cultural differences, the allies cooperate quite well in the diplomatic and military arenas. Naturally, they do not attempt to share any framework of common laws or free-trade provisions.

The PRA’s primary rivals are India and the Transpacific Socialist Alliance. Relations with China are usually cool, and PRA forces are also deployed against any possible threat from there. On the other hand, the PRA members have extensive trade links to China and there is little incentive on either side for conflict. The PRA maintains extensive air and naval forces, but has a relatively small army. All of the major PRA states have extensive foreign intelligence systems.

The recent addition of Thailand to the alliance has complicated its strategic situation considerably. Thailand remains surrounded by hostile nanosocialist states, and is regarded by China as being within its own sphere of influence.