Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s recent meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden was framed as a reaffirmation of the two countries’ recently battered democracies. But if Lula seems like a good fit for Biden’s narrative of a global battle between democracy and autocracy, he also underscores the limitations of this narrative.
Amid competition and trade tensions, U.S.-China relations are at a low point. The path forward is treacherous, and how Washington chooses to navigate it will shape not only current events, but possibly the century ahead. The U.S. has three options for how it approaches Beijing going forward: It can oppose China, embrace it or ignore it.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos recently announced that Manila will implement a defense agreement signed with the U.S. in 2014 and grant U.S. forces access to additional military bases. After six years of acrimonious relations, the Philippines is poised once again to play a pivotal role in Washington’s Indo-Pacific strategy.
