Yet, despite the fact that America spends more on defense than the next ten powers combined, it has never been a regional hegemon because it actually relies on the cooperation of other states to remain predominant. Without cooperation from allies such as Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and the Philippines, the US could not retain its forward military positions in the West Pacific.
如果不能相对于对手保持军事优势，就没有哪个大国能够一枝独秀。不过尽管美国在国防领域的开支超过紧随其后的十大强国，但它从来没有成为地区霸主，因为它实际上有赖于其他国家的合作来维持其优势地位。没有日本、韩国、新加坡、菲律宾等盟国的合作，美国就无法在西太平洋保持其先进的军事地位。同样，美国需要印尼、马来西亚和泰国的合作，来容纳其至关重要的雷达设施。