COMMENTARY / World

Will the U.S. finally make the pivot to Asia?

U.S. President Biden has focused on Russia’s recent military machinations, yet ignores a bigger move by China

Demonstrators in New Delhi protest in June 2020 against China after a deadly border clash with Chinese troops in India’s Ladakh region. With the U.S.’ attention focused on a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine, a bigger military buildup that is taking place along the China-India border is being ignored. | REUTERS

By Brahma Chellaney
Contributing Writer

Feb 20, 2022

Amid escalating U.S.-Russia tensions, U.S. President Joe Biden unveiled his long-delayed “Indo-Pacific Strategy” on Feb. 11, just as the White House warned that a Russian invasion of Ukraine was imminent.

The American confrontation with Moscow, which has mounted a major military buildup against Ukraine to compel the United States to abandon its post-Cold War policy of NATO creep to Russia’s borders, risks becoming the defining crisis of Biden’s presidency.

A Russian invasion could leave an already distracted U.S. president little time for the Indo-Pacific region, which explains why the 19-page strategy document was hurriedly released on a Friday afternoon.