A. V. SEMIN Candidate of Political Sciences Institute of the Far East of the Russian Academy of Sciences USA military-political situation in the Asia-Pacific region, Keywords: China, Japan Relations in the US-China-Japan triangle determine to a decisive extent the nature of the military-political situation in the Asia-Pacific region (APR). Recently, it has become more complicated. There is even a sense of going back to the Cold War. The difference is that before it was a confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union, and today - with China. Although relations between the United States and Russia are not without clouds, there is a clear shift in emphasis in time and space*. In his speech to the Australian Parliament in November 2011, US President B. "Our new focus on this region reflects a fundamental truth," Obama said.: The United States was and always will be a Pacific power."1. When presenting the new US defense strategy in January 2012, he stated :" We will strengthen our presence in the Asia-Pacific region, and budget cuts will not be made at the expense of this critical region."2. And this is despite the fact that the new strategy does not provide for the conduct of "two regional wars"at the same time. There are simply no resources for this: the country's military budget is planned to be reduced by almost $500 billion in the next 10 years. But after the US withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan, the Pentagon's focus is shifting to China.3 In June 2012, US Secretary of Defense L. Panetta toured Asian countries to explain the new US defense policy, primarily the pivotal role that the Asia-Pacific region plays in it. On the eve of this trip, in his speech at the US Naval Academy, making routine diplomatic curtsies about the importance of strengthening relations with China through defense departments, he stressed: "The Chinese Armed Forces are growing and modernizing. We must be vigilant. We must be strong. We must be ready for any challenge. " 4 And ... Read more