As the focus shifts to the Indo-Pacific, the stakes involve the very future of global trade and technological supremacy. The relationship between China and Taiwan remains the most significant potential trigger for a direct confrontation between the world’s two largest economies. Beijing’s stance on reunification remains firm, and its military exercises around the island have become increasingly sophisticated, involving coordinated naval blockades and cyber-warfare simulations. For the United States and its partners—including Japan, Australia, and increasingly India—the preservation of a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” is a matter of national survival. Continue reading…
