The United States Pacific Command (PACOM) has in its care 169 million square kilometres of the area of Asia and the Pacific, encompassing 50% of the world’s population. The next six largest armed forces in the world are concentrated in this area and the world’s three largest economies. 35% of the United States foreign exports (550 billion USD) are concentrated here, in a region inhabited by thirty-six nations, including five states that are allied to the United States (Australia, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Thailand).
