Different security concepts held by Russia, Europe and the United States lie at the core of the crisis and won’t be easy to reconcile. As America promotes fear of an imminent invasion, Russia has remained poised, and Europe — which has ceded its security to the U.S. —simply hopes for the best.

The United States and its allies need to make a strategic shift in their Asian strategy, away from their highly militarized mindset and toward thinking about what countries in the region want.

The unfolding situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina has caught the eyes of the international community, but the West making China and Russia the boogeymen behind the crisis is a thin facade for Eastern Europe’s own tribulations and apprehension to Western establishments.

Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen will assume leadership of ASEAN this year, and bring with him a positive attitude towards China and a recent history of disengagement with the West. Observers expect that the regional organization’s agenda will turn away from topics that will directly challenge China’s influence over Southeast Asia.

The RCEP is the largest free trade agreement in global history - but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be smooth sailing for China and its partners in Southeast Asia.

The eastward expansion of NATO makes Russia feel vulnerable, and it could react with a fight based on its national DNA. But sovereign states should be guided by one key principle: Never take the first step without considering the last one.

So-called freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea and Taiwan region by the U.S. Navy have proved misguided. In fact, the encroachments have become a strategic burden.

With the United States maintaining a hostile stance, the DPRK faces a bleak choice: either capitulate to U.S. nuclear and missile demands or try to unnerve the U.S. with a show of force. It is likely to try the latter first.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi went to Africa, as is customary. But he also visited two Asian countries, a choice that signals China’s desire to break the U.S. attempt at containment.

Applying an archipelagic approach in the South China Sea will help achieve balance between coastal states and the many user states in the region. But who will write the rules?