U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to China last week as part of a series of recent high-level contacts between Washington and Beijing. Although no major breakthroughs came out of the trip, it demonstrates that both sides want to prevent bilateral ties from sinking any lower, even as U.S.-China competition continues to intensify.
Since mid-February the U.S. has maintained almost half of its aircraft carriers deployed in the Pacific Theater of Operations.The South China Morning Post reported on February 14 that five of America’s 11 aircraft carriers would all likely soon be deployed there at the same time. Two of the carriers, the USS Carl Vinson and USS Theodore Roosevelt have been participating in a military exercise with Japan in the Philippine Sea, the USS Ronald Reagan is in port at Yokosuka, the USS Abraham Lincoln
Analysis: China's footprint on Afghanistan's politics, foreign policy, and economy is gradually deepening as it increases its engagement with the Taliban.