As the world watches the conflict in Ukraine unfold, observers have quickly drawn up comparisons to China in relation to security and expansionist ideals. A careful examination of the decades leading up to the current fiasco is needed to show the truth of how we arrived where we are today.

Beijing has called for restraint and a de-escalation through dialogue on Ukraine.

On the night of February 21, the Ukraine crisis further escalated. Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a speech and signed a legislation acknowledging the “independence” of the Donetsk and Luhansk republics in east Ukraine, and announced sending in troops for “peacekeeping” there. The US, UK, France and EU all strongly condemned, and came up with plans of sanctions.

The last few years have seen the United States pressing countries in the region to suspend cooperation with China. But wouldn’t it be better to take a more positive approach? There are plenty of opportunities.

Different security concepts held by Russia, Europe and the United States lie at the core of the crisis and won’t be easy to reconcile. As America promotes fear of an imminent invasion, Russia has remained poised, and Europe — which has ceded its security to the U.S. —simply hopes for the best.

The unfolding situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina has caught the eyes of the international community, but the West making China and Russia the boogeymen behind the crisis is a thin facade for Eastern Europe’s own tribulations and apprehension to Western establishments.

Artificial intelligence’s many applications have the potential to change daily life for people worldwide. It also has the potential to reshape military power in the future. With China and the U.S. locked into a power struggle, this is one area where both sides have great incentive to leapfrog the other.

The eastward expansion of NATO makes Russia feel vulnerable, and it could react with a fight based on its national DNA. But sovereign states should be guided by one key principle: Never take the first step without considering the last one.

So-called freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea and Taiwan region by the U.S. Navy have proved misguided. In fact, the encroachments have become a strategic burden.

With the United States maintaining a hostile stance, the DPRK faces a bleak choice: either capitulate to U.S. nuclear and missile demands or try to unnerve the U.S. with a show of force. It is likely to try the latter first.