A meeting between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump in Washington is intended to reduce tensions between the USA and China. In Hawaii, the USA is now preparing for an emergency. A site visit.
Oahu, Hawaii. Arlene V. Crews has to speak in a loud voice to counter the dull roar on board the US destroyer “USS Decatur”. “We are ready for action,” says the frigate captain. The 154-meter-long warship is currently docked in Pearl Harbor on O'hau, a small island in the US state of Hawaii, a ten-hour flight from the capital Washington. On board are systems for firing torpedoes and anti-missiles such as the Tomahawks.
O'ahu is home to the headquarters of the US Pacific Command (US Pacom), the largest of seven regional commands of the US military, responsible for the entire Indo-Pacific region. “From Bollywood to Hollywood and from penguins to polar bears,” former US Secretary of Defense James Mattis once summarized it.
Admiral Samuel Paparo would command American troops from here in the event of war between the United States and China. In the event of war, the four-star general would have hundreds of other ships and thousands of combat aircraft at his disposal in addition to the “USS Decatur”. There would also be coordination with the partners' ships and aircraft that would assist the USA.
The man who this contingent is intended to deter from starting a war with the USA is expected in Washington on September 24th by US President Donald Trump: Chinese state and party leader Xi Jinping. For years, the United States has viewed the People's Republic under his leadership as the greatest threat to its own security and the entire region.
Experts see the Indo-Pacific region as the setting for a showdown in the US-China rivalry. “The United States has been the strongest strategic actor in the Asia-Pacific region for several decades,” says Denny Roy, an expert on Chinese foreign policy from the East West Center in Oahu’s capital Honolulu, in an interview with Handelsblatt and other journalists. But that is becoming less and less compatible with China's aspirations.
“China has set itself the goal of becoming a world power,” says Alexander Vuving, a professor in the College of Security Studies at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (APCSS). The APCSS is the think tank of the US Department of Defense. “China wants to regain the place at the top of the hierarchy of nations that it believes it deserves,” says Vuving.
Beijing has learned from other nations: In order to become a world power, you must first become a maritime power. China initially wants to be the dominant power within the first island chain from its border - and expand its sphere of influence from there.
Beijing has massively armed itself in recent years. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, China's naval forces have been larger than those of the USA since 2014 - and have grown even further since then.
At the heart of China's strategy is the capture of Taiwan. The Chinese regime likes to talk about “reunification” with the island, although democratically ruled Taiwan was never part of the People's Republic founded in 1949. The majority of its population also speaks out against annexation to China. Because a voluntary unification of Taiwan with China seems unlikely from today's perspective, Xi wants to take the island by force if necessary.
Experts repeatedly warn about the impact a war in the region and around Taiwan would have on the global economy. Around a fifth of global trade passes through the Taiwan Strait, and without the chips from Taiwan, global supply chains would come to a standstill.
The USA is therefore relying on deterrence. “Our strategy is clear: we must deny China the opportunity to achieve its goals through military aggression,” Paparo told the US Congress in Washington in April. At the same time, America must strengthen the network of alliances and partnerships. It represents the “biggest asymmetrical advantage,” emphasized Paparo. A photo at the APCSS think tank shows him next to US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. In the chain of command, Paparo only reports to him and US President Trump in the event of war.
Samuel Paparo in front of the Philippine Military Academy at the end of August: The US admiral emphasizes the advantage of alliances and partnerships. Photo: AP Photo/Aaron Favila
Representatives from the Navy, Marines, Army and the APCSS think tank explain to international journalists in numerous exclusive discussions how the machinery of deterrence works. The US State Department has arranged appointments for a dozen of them at the command centers in Hawaii. Most of the press representatives come from South Korea and Japan, and Handelsblatt is the only European media included. So that the military representatives can speak freely despite the sensitive topic, the agreement is that they cannot be quoted.
The conversations take place in almost idyllic surroundings. The US military base Camp H. M. Smith, which houses the headquarters of the US Pacific Command, is located high on a rolling hill. On the way there you drive past white-painted, one-story homes with porches and grills in the front yards. There are palm trees on the extensive grounds, their leaves swaying gently in the warm wind, and wild chickens and their chicks look for food in the meadows.
From inside the building you have a wide view of Pearl Harbor, where the Japanese attacked the USA in December 1941. Today, Japan is one of the US's most important allies in the struggle with China for dominance in the Indo-Pacific region. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi warned at the end of 2025 that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would pose a threat to her country's existence.
Containing this threat is the task of the US Pacific Command under Admiral Paparo. The task is large, as the US Pacific Command area encompasses 36 nations, 14 time zones and 60 percent of the world's population. Around 400,000 members of the US military and civilian employees are under his command. In the event of an emergency, cooperation with the United States' many partners in the region and beyond would also be coordinated from O'ahu.
Because every military has slightly different chains of command, technology and culture, the United States meets with its partners for military exercises more than 100 times a year.
Frigate Captain Arlene V. Crews: Do whatever the commanders need. Decatur. Photo: Dana Heide
Just a few weeks ago, Frigate Captain Crews and her 330-person crew took part in the world's largest exercise: the Rim of the Pacific, or RimPac for short. 30 different nations took part. At times, 30 to 40 ships were in Pearl Harbor at the same time, say people who were there. “Destroyers are workhorses,” says 41-year-old Crews. “We can work very autonomously, but we can also work very integrated, depending on what the commanders need.”
Germany was also involved in the biennial exercise this year - but only with personnel. In 2024, Berlin sent two ships to the large “RimPac” exercise. According to Handelsblatt information, the reason why it didn't send any equipment this time was because the Navy didn't have enough ships available. Germany has a comparatively small fleet.
As an export nation, however, commitment to the Pacific is important to the Federal Republic. Since 2025, the Federal Ministry of Defense has even had a liaison officer in Honolulu. In 2024, Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) took the long trip to Hawaii to show a sign of support. It was also he who sent a frigate and an escort ship through the Taiwan Strait for the first time - a signal to China that the Chinese regime should not decide which military ships are allowed to pass through this international shipping lane.
Pete Hegseth
A series of departures and growing discontent: the man behind Trump's Iran war is coming under pressure
The US government under President Joe Biden had praised European partners such as Germany for their commitment in the Indo-Pacific. The current US administration is pursuing a different strategy. Last year, US Secretary of Defense Elbridge Colby criticized Britain for wanting to send an aircraft carrier to the region, according to media reports. Instead, he demanded, London should concentrate on Europe.
Since the beginning of his second term in office, US President Trump has repeatedly sharply attacked the US's allies. He claimed that Canada was “worse than China.” He accused South Korea of sending an “inappropriate and hostile signal” to North Korea with a routine joint military exercise with the USA. He canceled one of the exercises without replacing it.
Because of his war in Iran, he actually needs his allies more than ever at the moment - to make up for the lack of capacity to deter China. The war with Iran, which has now lasted over seven months, has not only significantly reduced the USA's ammunition stocks. The deployment in the Middle East also ties up US military capacities from other regions.
In order to be able to launch a major attack on Iran at any time, Trump has his admirals keep military capacities on standby. Because the resources of the Central Command, which is responsible for the Middle East, are not sufficient, the other commands also have to contribute personnel and equipment - including the US Pacific Command. In the meantime, no US aircraft carrier was stationed in the western Pacific.
In an internal routine report, the so-called Secretary of Defense Orders Book, which the Washington Post recently reported on, Trump's generals warned that their involvement in Iran was endangering operations in other regions.
Trade
The USA wants to decouple itself from China – and is hitting German companies in the process
When asked, a US Navy representative admits that there are currently “not that many” naval forces in the Indo-Pacific region. However, the other armed forces of the Army, Marines and Air Force are represented. “And our close allies are becoming more involved,” he says.
Anyone who speaks to US military personnel quickly realizes how important it is for them to work with their American partners - despite the president's attacks. “It's not the public message you sometimes hear,” says the US Navy official. “But everyone knows that our partnerships are the most important thing to us – probably the most important thing in the world.”
American military officials are trying to repair the hurt that the Trump administration's statements and actions are causing to partners. German military circles also confirm to Handelsblatt that their American colleagues at working level repeatedly emphasize how important cooperation is to them.
In any case, the Federal Republic's commitment is well received by the American military. Germany does not have a large navy, and the country has “a big task” to fulfill in Europe, says a Navy representative. "But they come whenever they can - that's great. The German Navy is doing its part."
Experts do not believe that China is taking advantage of the US military's current weakened situation in the Pacific due to the Iran War to attack Taiwan. However, the risk of an attack will increase from next year. Xi Jinping had ordered the Chinese military to be able to attack Taiwan by 2027.
China's state and party leader Xi Jinping during a visit to his naval forces: massive rearmament. Photo: picture alliance/AP Photo
Regime observers expect Chinese generals to tell Xi what he wants to hear. Then it depends on whether he believes that too - and whether he thinks that an invasion of Taiwan would actually be the only way to take over the island and that an attack would be promising.
In Inner Mongolia, the Chinese military has recreated the Taiwanese government headquarters in Taipei - including the streets surrounding the building. The Japanese had also meticulously recreated the harbor before their attack on Pearl Harbor. A black-and-white photo in the small on-site museum shows two Japanese military personnel who are hiding in the model in a rice field and reconstructing the displacement of the American ships.
Related topics
ChinaUSADonald TrumpXi Jinping
Frigate Captain Crews and her crew can see the reminder of what happens when you are unprepared and meet a well-prepared opponent every day from the lookout deck of their ship: just a few hundred meters away lies the wreck of the USS “Arizona”. The battleship sank 85 years ago during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and is now marked by a memorial.
More: China warns against military misuse of AI
Published according to the editorial standards of the Handelsblatt. You can find more information in our guidelines.
More on the topic of our partners display
remind.me Take advantage of current low electricity/gas prices before prices rise again
