After years of distrust, Vietnam and the Philippines may finally have the opportunity to establish a truly consequential strategic partnership amid rising geopolitical uncertainty in the South China Sea.

Four key opportunities present themselves in Northeast Asia, and it's important to grasp them while we can. Compared with the various major structural challenges in the region, the opportunities are few and small. But there are signs that the situation is improving, albeit slowly.

In his now-classic 2018 book, AI Superpowers, Kai-Fu Lee threw down the gauntlet in arguing that China poses a growing technological threat to the United States. When Lee gave a guest lecture to my “Next China” class at Yale in late 2019, my students were enthralled by his provocative case: America was about to lose its first-mover advantage in discovery (the expertise of AI’s algorithms) to China’s advantage in implementation (big-data-driven applications).

Extended deterrence by the U.S. and ROK, as well as the framing of security as a regional issue requiring alliances, illustrates the spread of NATO-style security thinking. From China’s perspective, this will result in a further imbalance in the region’s security order and requires resolute opposition.

New international institutions, mechanisms and laws — as well as the reform and improvement of existing ones — should no longer be dominated by the West. The shaping of a new global order should be done through multilateral cooperation.

We live in a world where geopolitical stability relies largely on deterrence. But how can we prove that deterrence works?

The Taiwan stand-off between the island, China, and the U.S. has been a simmering point of tension for decades, but with anti-China rhetoric ratcheting up in the West, and bolder American overtures towards Taiwan’s elected leaders, the potential for open conflict seems more and more likely.

Stronger U.S.-ROK ties have aggravated tensions with the DPRK, and the situation has deteriorated further since the ROK’s new president assumed office. In the North’s eyes, America’s maximum pressure approach excludes any possibility for meaningful dialogue.

Artificial intelligence may transform human society for the better by releasing people from repetitive work and improving the speed of innovation. But no one is immune from its potential negative social impacts and security threats. Some worry about becoming its victims.

China has kick-started a phase of public-facing diplomacy overtures, encompassing Europe, the Middle East, and its own situation with Taiwan. The wave of meetings and visits shows a remarkable change in China’s reception from the international community, as well as where it might still improve its relations.