The Heritage Foundation, in its recent report, "Assessing America's Ability to Provide for the Common Defense", has used a new index system to gauge the level of threat the United States faces in different parts of the world and to determine its preparedness for common defense with its allies.

In Asia, the report says, despite the moderate overall security environment, there exist three threats, primarily constituted by terrorism (Afghanistan and Pakistan), China and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. It also says that all these threats "are ranked behaviorally as aggressive".

China is assessed to be threatening because its rising capability continues to "present the US with the most comprehensive security challenge in the region". In the context of rising capability, China's growing defense budget is helping it modernize its military.