US-CHINA RIVALRY SHAPES ASIA-PACIFIC

The dominant Asia-Pacific story is the sharpening U.S.-China rivalry, which is driving regional security priorities and economic policy across the area. Competition is intensifying around maritime routes, strategic chokepoints, and disputed waters such as the South China Sea, while Taiwan and the Korean Peninsula remain key flashpoints. Trade and economic security are increasingly tied to geopolitics, with supply-chain resilience, tariffs, and technology controls reshaping ties among major Asian economies. At the same time, regional states are hedging by deepening defense and security cooperation, creating a more networked but more uncertain Indo-Pacific order.