Jakarta, IO – As Taipei accuses Beijing of trying to take control of the Taiwan Strait in the wake of Nancy Pelosi’s controversial visit and the Biden administration continues along with its Western allies in their proxy war against Russia in Ukraine, the global status quo has seemingly and suddenly been upended.
There is little doubt that China and Russia have entered into a new and potentially dangerous period of their relations with America. As bilateral ties between Washington, Beijing and Moscow have reached lows not seen since the height of the 20th century’s cold war, tensions have reached a point where there is a palpable risk of what some have called a new cold war turning inadvertently into direct confrontation.
For now, Washington has primarily responded to these multiple challenges by strengthening its military alliances. The Biden administration is working with its long-standing allies in the Indo-Pacific region including Japan, South Korea, Australia and India to bolster military cooperation as a means of countering China. At the same time, Western allies are spearheading the strengthening of NATO and providing direct military aid to Ukraine in a bid to turn the tables on Moscow in a conflict that has the potential to pose a threat to peace and stability to the entire European subcontinent.
Biden’s foreign policy team understands these challenges require more than just military-type responses. While Washington has imposed economic sanctions on Russia in its bid to punish Putin, it has also stepped up to the even more daunting task of countering China›s influence in the developing world, most recently by initiating the Build Back Better World.