Few areas of contemporary grand strategy command as much attention as U.S.-China relations. Recently, Beijing and Washington’s fragmenting relations have aroused a multitude of concerns from countries in the Indo-Pacific sphere. As both powers seek to gain influence in this region, analysts question how (or if) both powers can come to a reconciliation that allows third-party countries to maintain agency amidst great-power competition. But transparently, perhaps these countries’ trepidation is warranted, especially considering Beijing’s unrelenting pursuit of authority in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Straits.
Moreover, cross-strait tensions have reached an all-time high. Beijing’s “grey-zone” activities — air and water encroachments intended to intimidate and evoke the threat of war without actual military confrontation — have increased at an alarming rate since mid-September, deeply unnerving Taipei.