"The military balance in the Pacific is going in the wrong direction," said former U.S. defense department strategist Elbridge Colby recently. Following the dissolution of a landmark arms control treaty in early August, the U.S. is now eyeing where it might field missiles as a counterweight to China's sizable arsenal.
But U.S. deployment efforts face stiff headwinds among skittish Asia-Pacific allies, who understand that hosting missiles draws Beijing's ire and likely economic retaliation.
