With tensions mounting between the United States and China, the Indo-Pacific is thrust once again into the geopolitical spotlight. On April 11, 2024, the first trilateral summit between the United States, the Philippines, and Japan purportedly took place in response to China’s growing military presence in the region. The summit—billed as the first of many—is meant to signal a united front against any threats to stability in the region, with the United States pledging “ironclad” support for its Pacific allies. Although military defense cooperation figured high on the agenda, a key pillar of the new security engagement is energy cooperation, focusing on shared interests in securing supply chains for critical minerals, renewable energy projects, and clean technologies. 

　　As the global impetus for decarbonization accelerates, the strategic importance of the region has risen as a supplier of raw materials critical to transition and as a vast destination market for low-carbon technologies. In this article, we examine how decarbonization is driving key players to reconsider strategic priorities, alliances, and (re-)engagements, focusing in particular on the energy underpinnings of the U.S.-China rivalry and how this plays out in the Indo-Pacific. We argue that the material foundations of this rivalry now encompass a much broader set of resources and technologies than before, generating new patterns of dependence and interdependence between regional powers and emerging resource frontiers. U.S. re-engagement in the region is part of a broader strategy to contain China by leveraging U.S. military capabilities to control key trade routes while locking in economic partnerships on critical minerals, clean energy infrastructures, and supply chains, over which China holds significant control. We further examine how this partnership impacts and aligns with the interests of the Philippines and Japan and its implications for decarbonization. 

　　From: Monthly Review 2024 76 (3) 

　　Editor: Wang Yi