The Pacific: A Tinderbox in a New Cold War?
Insights, analysis and must reads from CNN's Fareed Zakaria and the Global Public Square team, compiled by Global Briefing editor Chris Good
Seeing this newsletter as a forward? Subscribe here.
October 19, 2021 The Pacific: A Tinderbox in a New Cold War? After China tested what was reported to be a hypersonic missile—but what Beijing insists was a spacecraft—The Wall Street Journal's editorial board points also to reported missile-silo construction and declares, "This isn't the behavior of a nation merely interested in defending its sovereignty," suggesting the US think harder about its own defense budget.
Some of the alarm may be overblown. The US tested a hypersonic missile just last month; North Korea says it has done the same; Russia says its ships will be equipped with them. But some argue this is beginning to feel more like the Cold War—and that the Pacific feels more like a tinderbox.
Regarding the Pacific as a tinderbox: The new security partnership between the US, UK, and Australia, dubbed AUKUS, "is just one of many military projects in the region," Georg Fahrion, Katharina Graça Peters, Alexander Sarovic and Bernhard Zand write for Der Spiegel. "Almost all countries that play a strategic role in the Indo-Pacific are investing in their militaries, including North and South Korea, India and Taiwan ... it is hard to foresee where the development might lead ... But the arms race in the Indo-Pacific could ... drive this economically dynamic and politically fragile region of the world into a military confrontation."
On the dryness of the kindling, a Foreign Policy essay by Andrew S. Erickson and Gabriel B. Collins elucidates a fear expressed by others: That China's rise has slowed and that Beijing might pounce—on Taiwan, in particular—out of fear that a window is closing. Colin Powell's Legacy: A Doctrine of Restraint As the late Gen. Colin Powell told Fareed in a 2008 interview, he wanted to be remembered primarily as a soldier. With Powell's passing this week, many are reviewing his legacy as, debatably, the most important soldier-statesperson of his generation. Covid-19's Endgame May Be Clear. How We Get There Isn't. "Covid will eventually become endemic," The Economist declares confidently, arguing it's all but certain that the virus will be with us for the long haul. As more people gain immunity through vaccination or sickness, the magazine writes, Covid-19 will take on a lowered risk level more akin to the flu or the common cold. That said, the virus "will throw up many challenges in the months and years ahead. The road to the new normal could yet be very bumpy." Would Iran Regret Going Nuclear? So far, diplomacy has failed to end Iran's nuclear-weapons program, Ray Takeyh writes for Foreign Affairs, concluding it's time to assume Tehran will eventually construct and successfully test a nuclear bomb. But in Takey's view, Tehran might not reap much benefit from doing so. FAREED'S GLOBAL BRIEFING You are receiving this newsletter because you're subscribed to Fareed's Global Briefing.
What did you like about today's Global Briefing? What did we miss? Let us know what you think: GlobalBriefing@cnn.com
No longer want to receive this newsletter? Unsubscribe. Interested in more? See all of our newsletters.
Create CNN Account | Listen to CNN Audio | Download the CNN App
® © 2021 Cable News Network, Inc. A WarnerMedia Company. All Rights Reserved. One CNN Center Atlanta, GA 30303
|