The steady decoupling of the world's two biggest economies
has turned up the heat in the Indo-Pacific, and as great power
competition intensifies, tensions are beginning to boil. Decades of
economic development and US-led global cooperation have held
conflicts to a low simmer, but the new world order is amplifying
ideological schisms and resurfacing animosities rooted in history,
politics, and culture. Increasing competition for the control of
lucrative trade routes and natural resources is aggravating
existing conflicts and creating new ones, while regional
demographics, climate change, and scarce resources are becoming
catalysts for conflict. Although the Taiwan issue has captured
everyone's attention of late, it is not the only flashpoint,
nor do they all intersect with China. Rather, conflict zones and
pressure points extend from East Asia to Southeast Asia to South
Asia and include the leading economies of Japan, South Korea,
Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the
