The region’s geopolitical landscape has become significantly more complex, generating deeper anxieties concerning China’s aggressive rise and the escalating US-China rivalry. This situation has been further aggravated by the disruptions caused by the COVID pandemic, followed by the Ukraine-Russia war, the Gaza conflict, and most recently, by the tariff wars. The recent positions taken by the US, which are detrimental to the interests of its closest allies in the region, have compounded th...
