In a 12-page strategy overview, the Biden administration said it would focus on every corner of the region from South Asia to the Pacific Islands to strengthen its long-term position and commitment.

"The PRC (People's Republic of China) is combining its economic, diplomatic, military, and technological might as it pursues a sphere of influence in the Indo-Pacific and seeks to become the world's most influential power," the document said.

"Our collective efforts over the next decade will determine whether the PRC succeeds in transforming the rules and norms that have benefited the Indo-Pacific and the world."

Release of the document on Friday was timed to coincide with a visit to the Indo-Pacific by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken intended to emphasise the priority the United States attaches to the region.

Washington is also grappling with a dangerous stand-off with Moscow, which has massed some 100,000 troops near Ukraine's border, stoking Western fears of an invasion.

It also comes after China and Russia declared last week a "no limits" strategic partnership, their most detailed and assertive statement to work together - and against the United States - to build a new international order based on their own interpretations of human rights and democracy.

In its document, the United States vowed to modernise alliances, strengthen emerging partnerships, and invest in regional organisations. It particularly stressed the importance of "a strong India" as a partner in a positive regional vision.

It said the United States would pursue a "free and open Indo-Pacific ... through a latticework of strong and mutually reinforcing coalitions."

Under an action plan for the next 12-24 months, the document said Washington would "meaningfully expand" its diplomatic presence in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands and prioritise key negotiations with Pacific island states that cover access for the US military and which have appeared to stall in the past year.

"We will refocus security assistance on the Indo-Pacific, including to build maritime capacity and maritime-domain awareness," it said.

On the highly sensitive potential flashpoint of self-ruled Taiwan, which Beijing claims as it own, Washington would work with partners inside and outside the region to maintain peace and stability in the strait dividing the island from China, it said.

The action plan also vows to expand the US coastguard presence and co-operation in South, Southeast Asia and the Pacific, where Washington has identified China as a threat to fishing and free-trade routes.

"We recognise the limitations in our ability to change China, and therefore seek to shape the strategic environment around China," a senior US administration official told reporters, adding that the document did not embody the administration's broader China strategy.

"Our China strategy is global in scope. It recognises the Indo-Pacific is a particularly intense region of competition," he said.

Australian Associated Press