The Two-Headed Fight for Ukraine and Taiwan

Warships take part in the main naval parade marking Russian Navy Day in the Gulf of Finland. (Getty Images)

The prospect of imminent crisis in Ukraine and the potential for a later one in the Taiwan Strait underscores the importance of strategic linkage to America’s foreign policy approach, writes Seth Cropsey in The Wall Street Journal. Western statesmen must not fall victim to the illusion that policies in one part of the world can exist in a vacuum without consequences in another area. The failure to grasp this fact only invites escalation from our adversaries.

Lithuania Is the 'Canary' of World Order

Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Vilnius, Lithuania. (Getty Images)

Russia and China are ganging up on Lithuania in retaliation for its staunch defense of human rights and democracy, and to test the resolve of its American and European allies. Whether or not America and Europe stand by its side will determine not only what happens to Lithuania, but whether Putin and Xi will be emboldened to cause trouble elsewhere, write Tod Lindberg and Peter Rough in The Wall Street Journal.

Why the Saudi Arabia Weapons Deal Was a Strategic Necessity

Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdelasis al-Saud (M), Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, attended the G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan, on June 28, 2019. (Getty Images)

Libertarians on the right and progressives on the left cooperated recently in a failed attempt to defeat the Biden administration’s foreign military sale package to Saudi Arabia. Yet if Americans wish to avoid further entanglement in the Middle East, it is crucial that we provide strategic partners—including Saudi Arabia—with the necessary arms to defend themselves, writes Rebeccah L. Heinrichs in The Hill. 

America Is Back: Now It Must Adapt and Deliver

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivers remarks on the Biden administration's Indo-Pacific strategy at the Universitas Indonesia in Jakarta, Indonesia on December 14, 2021. (Getty Images)

America's re-engagement with Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific region was one of 2021's most welcome developments—but Washington still needs to deliver on its promising start. While the days of clear American global pre-eminence may be behind us, no other power is more capable than the U.S. of mobilizing others to work toward a positive, stable vision for Southeast Asia, writes Patrick Cronin in The Straits Times.

The Slow Meltdown of the Chinese Economy

A man takes a photo of a wall showing images of Communist Party Chairman and President Xi Jinping as part of a display at the Museum of the Communist Party of China on June 25, 2021, in Beijing, China. (Getty Images)

China is experiencing a slow-motion economic crisis that could erode the stability of the current regime and have serious consequences for the global economy, writes Thomas Duesterberg in The Wall Street Journal. The U.S. and its allies have many tools to influence China’s economy. Policy makers should be thinking of how best to deploy these tools, instead of passively assuming the rapid growth and stability of the Chinese economy will continue.

BEFORE YOU GO...

The White House is set to launch its “comprehensive” Indo-Pacific economic framework in 2022. Cabinet officials have teased a plan that touches on everything that’s of shared interest for America, including technology, supply chains, infrastructure, climate change and more. But there is still a crucial missing element: America’s trade policy, writes Riley Walters in The Hill.