Archives Indo-Pacific contradictions - New Eastern Outlook

For decades the US has sought to prevent China’s rise, and the Philippines is becoming its “Ukraine” in Asia: the South China Sea conflict is engineered in Washington, not Manila.

The recently concluded trilateral “Orient Shield” exercises in Japan became the first three-way maneuvers involving Washington, Tokyo, and Canberra in which the “Typhon” medium-range missile system was employed. How are the United States and its allies pushing the world toward the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD)?

The limiting of the Ulchi Freedom Shield 2026 exercise tells us more than just a shift in US-South Korea relations. This exercise was scheduled from August 27 until August 17, illustrating a shift in the planning of the alliance between the US and South Korea as well as how Washington intends to handle North Korea.