Is Asia now witnessing Cold War 2.0? (Opinion)
There is no doubt that the modern PLA is leaner and meaner than it ever has been.
Just how far will strategic competition between China and the US extend, and just who is it that is upsetting the apple cart?
China is forever accusing the US of harbouring a ‘Cold War mentality’, whatever that might be. But has the world already witnessed the beginnings of a new Cold War, one centred on Asia?
The first question is to define what a Cold War is.
If one looks at the prototype – the original Cold War between the USSR on one hand and the US and allies on the other – key characteristics can perhaps be narrowed down to four elements: the threat of nuclear war; competition for allegiance from others; sharply opposed ideologies; and economic/military support for others’ enemies.
Now,
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