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Foreign Affairs | Whereas Beijing had spent years identifying where it could squeeze Washington hardest and then built the capabilities to do so, the United States was not ready to exploit the anxieties that keep China’s leaders up at night—even though there is no shortage of them.........
Financial Times | “Allies won’t stick their necks out for Taipei if Trump is reducing support for Taiwan and cosying up to China. Beijing will take actions at some point that test the Taiwanese and US response,” says Ely Ratner, a former top Pentagon official now at the Marathon Initiative think-tank........
New York Times | Trump’s accommodation of China may yield more military engagement in the near term, but it will also invite greater P.L.A. coercion against U.S. allies,” [Ratner] said, referring to the Chinese military. “That’s not a recipe for strategic stability.”........
Financial Times | There is an alluring logic to hitting pause until the US is strong enough to prevail. But the Trump administration is repeating a familiar mistake in betting that backing off will produce reciprocal restraint.........
Semafor | Ely Ratner, a Biden-administration defense adviser, told me that Chinese leader Xi Jinping is “in a wait-and-see mode.” He argues (and most analysts agree) that Xi would prefer a peaceful solution........
The Economist | Ely Ratner, the Pentagon’s top Asia official in the Biden administration, does not think the war in Iran greatly increases the likelihood of Mr Xi making a move on Taiwan in the near term, but “it’s more possible today than it was two months ago.”........
The Wall Street Journal | “New Zealand’s greater focus on China and its associated boost in defense spending are welcome shifts,” said Ely Ratner, a former assistant defense secretary for Indo-Pacific security affairs in the Biden administration who is now a principal at the Marathon Initiative think tank...........
The Washington Post | U.S. tactical gains are consuming the ships, munitions and readiness needed for the Indo-Pacific...........
The New York Times | I“Moving air defenses out of Korea sends a terrible signal at a time when there are already huge concerns in Seoul about the Trump administration’s shaky commitment to Asia,” said Ely Ratner, a former assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs under President Biden..........
The Interpreter | The three uncomfortable truths that Australia needs to confront about the gap between perception and reality...........