US Navy flexes soft power in ‘renewed pivot’ to Southeast Asia amid regional rivalry

The US Navy has launched its largest annual humanitarian mission in the Indo-Pacific with a renewed focus on Southeast Asia, in what analysts described as part of Washington’s effort to rebuild confidence and project soft power in a region central to its rivalry with China.

Pacific Partnership 2026, the US Navy’s largest annual maritime humanitarian and civic assistance effort in the Indo-Pacific, began after US personnel departed San Diego on May 27 for a mission-coordinating hub in the Philippines.

The five-month mission brings together 300 personnel and will stop in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, East Timor and Vietnam, alongside ongoing efforts in Fiji and Palau.

The mission includes 150 US Navy personnel and servicemen from allies and partners such as Australia, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines and South Korea.

Aside from its stop in the Philippines last year, the 2025 mission focused on the Pacific Islands, visiting Fiji, Tonga, Papua New Guinea, the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Samoa and Vanuatu.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the annual mission, which stemmed from the US and international response to the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami that claimed over 200,000 lives across 14 countries.