Washington intends to shed its reliance on multilateral mechanisms and form a new economic framework based on bilateral consultations. The IPEF is more of a contract aimed at solving particular issues than an agreement to ratchet up economic integration. And, of course, it aims to dent China’s influence.

ASEAN is the crossroads of the Pacific, and one of the world’s most strategically valuable trade routes. Their high volume of trade with both the U.S. and China put them at the intersection of something else - the escalating struggle between the two superpowers for global supremacy.

A just cause enjoys abundant support while an unjust one does not. At a time when most countries in the Asia-Pacific region are striving to maintain peace and stability, the U.S. has deliberately waded in to create antagonism and the potential for cutthroat competition.

In pivoting to the Asia-Pacific region, the U.S. could undermine its own global leadership by turning away from Europe and the Middle East, where trust in the U.S. security blanket has eroded. Countries in those places are edging increasingly toward self-reliance.

Both the EU and ASEAN have largely criticized the newly announced AUKUS deal, leaving many European nations and China’s neighboring states scrambling to respond to the addition of nuclear submarines to Australia’s arsenal.

The AUKUS defense agreement continues to shake up relations in Southeast Asia, as the nations caught between Australia and China move to protect stability in the region as the staredown between the U.S. and China intensifies.

The creation of AUKUS is being criticized by many as an instigation on the part of the U.S. and the U.K., with third parties in Asia as well as Europe deeply troubled by its announcement.

The fallout of the AUKUS deal has the potential to alter the landscape of relationships in the Pacific region. By entering a nuclear arms deal with Australia, the U.S. and U.K. are applying pressure in the showdown between China and its Western counterparts.

2021 has shown how the EU will seek to maintain a competitive and cooperative relationship with China amidst tensions between the U.S. and China.

The new three-way alliance reflects a new U.S. orientation toward its partners as it seeks to raise barriers to China. Giving a $50 billion cold shoulder to France over nuclear submarine technology is just one example.