Washington does not want the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to escalate, as that would undermine its “pivot to Asia” strategy. But it doesn’t mind so much when Israel attacks Iran because that serves as a sort of proxy warning to other hostile forces in the Middle East.

The Philippines under Duterte shifted toward a more neutral position between the U.S. and China, but now under the leadership of Marcos Jr, a more U.S. friendly approach has given rise to more flashpoint issues concerning the Philippines accommodations of U.S. military.

The United States talks the talk but fails to walk the walk. It is angling to create a mini NATO parallel organization in the Asia-Pacific region by enlisting the Philippines and Japan. Its Cold War thinking only creates conflict and confrontation — hyping security threats and sabotaging peace and stability.

While the United States has come through for its allies in Europe, Israel and Ukraine for now, there is reason for concern. Depending on who is elected U.S. president in November, securing further U.S. support could become increasingly difficult. If Donald Trump wins, there could be trouble ahead.

Cooperation between China and the United States in Track II dialogues now can help to avoid potential risks in international security and avoid bumps in bilateral relations. Interactions can also contribute insights useful in the establishment of the international norms and institutions needed for global AI governance.

The attack near Russia’s capital has sounded the alarm, once again, that terrorism is not far away. The U.S. has backed off from its leadership role, which only removes obstacles for international jihadists. Renewed cooperation is needed now more than ever.

The current wave of anti-Chinese sentiment in the United States has been building for years. It started in the early 2000s, when US policymakers first raised national-security concerns about Huawei. China’s national technology champion, the market leader in developing new 5G telecommunications equipment, was accused of deploying digital backdoors that could enable Chinese espionage and cyber-attacks. US-led sanctions in 2018-19 stopped Huawei dead in its tracks.

The French president has no intention of rushing troops into Ukraine without first getting his country’s allies to buy in. However, his rhetoric has be alarming, leading to serious discussions about escalation. It’s a very dangerous development.

If Donald Trump returns to the White House next year, it might represent a turnaround for Russia. Although President Vladimir Putin has said that Russia would prefer Joe Biden, he also cannot fail to see an opportunity in Trump to continue his quest to restore Russian dominance, starting with Ukraine.

Fabricating a strategic architecture by uniting Japan, the Philippines and Australia with the United States will only accelerate the transformation of the region into opposing camps and drag the big powers into a dangerous Thucydides trap.