The Biden administration is prioritizing its foreign policy strategy in Asia by extensive outreach and alliances in the region. Strategic partnerships with other countries, particularly in the Indo-Pacific , are crucial for the U.S. to keep up with China’s growth in the region.

The IPEF attempts to placate those who oppose free trade in the Indo-Pacific region while also constraining China. But China is the biggest trading partner for most IPEF countries, so the attempt to encircle China on trade is tantamount to encircling its own members.

At first glance, the Ukraine conflict has some loose parallels to 1958, when the People’s Liberation Army shelled Kinmen without notifying Russia in advance. But while rumors of intrigue may raise eyebrows, the comparison falls apart quickly.

Alienating Russia will not increase stability for Europe, nor will Russia disappear as a result of the Ukraine war. But Russia’s old power model — needlessly using force to punish countries for switching sides — needs to change.

Whether or not bilateral relations will enter a new era depends, in particular, on what the U.S. can offer. Peace and development is ASEAN’s main concern. A strategy designed to force members to side with the U.S. or China will not be welcomed.

A nation that seeks to maximize its own interests through containment, confrontation, closure, exclusivity or even the use of force runs against the will of the world, and Blinken failed to break that old mold. His words remain out of step with the direction of mankind.

While U.S. President Joe Biden’s Asia trip didn’t include China, Secretary of State Antony Blinken filled in some of the missing pieces in the puzzle of America’s Indo-Pacific diplomacy. His recent speech can be seen as a prelude to America’s long-delayed national security strategy.

The Biden administration’s leadership failure is the net effect of Capitol Hill’s revolving door politics. The White House is not in charge. The Big Defense is.

The United States does not rule out cooperation with China on particular issues, but the prominence of cooperation in principle has dropped significantly. Indications are that areas of possible cooperation are narrowing and the difficulty is increasing.

With President Joe Biden’s Asia tour and recent remarks by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the United States has begun putting a Cold War notion into practice once again. But what has failed in the past will not likely succeed in the future.