What message was conveyed? Nobody is quite sure. While the top American diplomat’s visit to Hanoi will surely affect relations with the U.S., Vietnam doesn’t want to alienate China.

Japan’s Prime Minister hosted a Quadrilateral Security Dialogue that pinpointed the rise of China and the disputes in the South China Sea a focal point.

Emerging technologies are bringing advanced capabilities to more countries and adding new ambiguities, which only increase risk. Failing to strengthen controls now will lead to a new arms race.

Both the UAE and Saudi Arabia, with relatively young leaders, have the will to promote trade and military cooperation with Israel. But putting their national interests ahead of the broader interests of the Arab world may not play well in the long run.

Two Arab states established relations with Israel in the name of peace, but the likely result will be more turmoil. Palestinians will feel ever more isolated, especially if the United States succeeds in getting more countries in the neighborhood to follow suit.

Already hotly contested, the South China Sea is seeing an uptick in movement since certain European powers have gotten involved. It remains to be seen how far Europe is willing to go in shaping the maritime disputes along its preferences and provisions of international law.

A series of moves by the United States and the words of its high-ranking officials all point in the same direction: The U.S. is doing its utmost to contain China across the board for the 21st century.

Over a century ago, World War I showed the world how crowded alliances and geopolitical tension could ignite into all-out war. Now in the 21st Century, posturing on both sides of the Pacific mirror the mistakes made by yesterday’s empires.

The important waterway could be the first tile to fall in a Sino-U.S. conflict. In openly ramping up an interventionist policy and increasing its pressure on China, the United States is increasing the risk of a military confrontation.

Since the 1970s, the US has tread a fine line of pursuing neutrality on claims to the South China Sea. The Trump administration, however, looks set to upend that policy.