The period of transition amid centennial changes is full of risks and crises. Great changes call for great wisdom and initiative. The world needs to be reevaluated. The path forward needs to be reconsidered.

Joe Biden’s hope for reasserting American leadership in Southeast Asia will face growing challenges, not only from China but also a skeptical audience in the region.

The world looked on in horror as Burma’s military seized power on Feb 1, the latest coup in the Southeast Asian country’s fraught history. Neighboring China’s geopolitical interests and America’s globally provocative rhetoric may come to a head as the situation unfolds.

If the UK hasn’t thought through its position relative to the strategic competition between China and the United States, its pivot to the region will not make much of a splash.

Relations have sunk to a new low as Australia mirrors the attitude of the United States toward China. A policy released in July makes clear that Australia intends to assist the U.S. in its efforts, meaning that conflicts between China and Australia will be long-term and strategic.

An analysis of the current situation and its possible evolution under the Biden administration suggests that the U.S. will attempt to consolidate its influence over littoral states and attempt to crash the China-led COC negotiations.

When Joe Biden moves into the White House, his geopolitical signals will be closely watched by China, whose rise in the western Pacific is a historical necessity. Yet even a softer U.S. will try to undermine it, especially with nations that nurse maritime disputes.

Over a century ago, tangled alliances in Europe were tested with the onset of the First World War. Today, the converging interests of Asia’s middle powers, U.S. regional allies, and China in the South China Sea threaten to provide the world a redux.

Recently, A Legal Critique of the Award of the Arbitral Tribunal in the Matter of the South China Sea Arbitration (hereinafter referred to as the Critique) was jointly completed by National Institute for South China Sea Studies (NISCSS) and FIETTA LLP.

The incoming U.S. administration’s policy positions will likely include moving quickly to restore America’s influence in the region. It will seek an edge over China at every opportunity and try to draw ASEAN closer.