Opinion | Away from Ukraine and Indo-Pacific spotlight, power struggles are unfolding globally

Although the Russia-Ukraine crisis has accelerated destabilisation of the global security structure, there are also other developments to consider. For example, Türkiye, taking advantage of the global preoccupation with European security problems, is scaling up its military encroachments into Kurdish-inhabited territories in northern Syria.

Beijing was outraged by US President Joe Biden’s remarks on May 23 in Tokyo that the United States would come to Taiwan’s defence. The next day, as Biden met his Quad counterparts, Chinese and Russian bombers flew over the seas in Northeast Asia, the first Sino-Russian patrol in the Asia-Pacific.

On May 25, Beijing announced it had conducted a military drill near Taiwan. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin warned Washington of “irreparable consequences and unbearable cost” for its support of Taiwan.

The Ukraine issue has further damaged China-US ties, with Washington calling out Beijing’s “pro-Russia neutrality”. Ukraine was in the spotlight when Chinese and American defence chiefs met on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on June 10, exchanging mutual criticism over destabilising activities.

In a speech at the defence summit on June 11, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin linked security issues in Europe with the Indo-Pacific, just as Japan and the European Union had done earlier. Chinese military officials hit out at the US drawing parallels between Taiwan and Ukraine.

Washington’s foreign policy is now equally focused on two fronts: Europe, which is fortified by a regalvanised Nato and where Russia is seen as a top threat, and the Indo-Pacific, marked by proto-Nato mechanisms, such as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue and the Aukus alliance, reinvigorated bilateral military engagements with key allies, and US military capacity in the region. Washington, Seoul and Tokyo have even agreed to relaunch trilateral military drills last held in 2017.