WASHINGTON, D.C. — Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire led a bipartisan group of senators on a visit to Taiwan, Japan and South Korea in early 2026, seeking to reassure officials in all three countries of the United States' commitment to deterring conflicts in Asia and shoring up regional stability. The trip came as the U.S. had pulled military assets from the Asia-Pacific to support its war with Iran, aimed at eliminating the threat posed by Iran's nuclear and missile programs.

"We know China has already said they intend to take Taiwan by force if they need to, and they're on an expedited time schedule. And we also know that what happened in Europe, in the war in Ukraine, in the Middle East is affecting those calculations," Shaheen said. She said the U.S. defense industry will struggle to meet the demand to replenish the weapons stockpile. "We're working on a number of strategies to improve that, but at this point, timelines for weapons delivery are slipping," she added.

Shaheen said she is encouraged that Taiwan, Japan and South Korea are stepping up their own defense.

President Donald Trump delayed his trip to China by several weeks due to the demands of the war with Iran. The national security strategy document states that it is in the economic interest of the U.S. to secure access to advanced chips sourced primarily from Taiwan and to protect shipping lanes in the South China Sea. The document also calls for building a military capable of denying aggression anywhere in the First Island Chain and describes deterring a conflict over Taiwan as a priority. By late 2025, the U.S. strategy in Asia had been narrowed to military deterrence in the Taiwan Strait and the First Island Chain.

"The United States has expended substantial numbers of munitions in the Middle East and will have to keep an increased force presence there, some of which has been redirected from Asia. Meanwhile, Xi Jinping's wisdom in preparing a 'war time' economy by stockpiling and adding alternate energy sources has shown itself to be beneficial," said Zack Cooper, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

Danny Russel, a distinguished fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute, offered a different assessment. "This is precisely the wrong time for the United States to turn away and be sucked into another intractable Middle East conflict," Russel said.

The diversion of attention and resources to the Middle East marked the latest chapter in a long effort to shift U.S. focus toward Asia. In 2011, President Barack Obama declared it was time for the U.S. to leave behind the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and shift focus to Asia to counter the rise of China. The Trans-Pacific Partnership, a proposed trade agreement with key regional partners, failed to get through the U.S. Senate. After taking office in 2017, Trump withdrew the U.S. from the partnership and launched a tariff war with China. President Joe Biden kept the tariffs imposed by his predecessor and tightened export controls on advanced technology while strengthening regional alliances to counter China.