Opinion | China’s soft power is making its mark as US doubles down on military might

As its soft power is increasingly challenged, the United States appears to be relying more on its hard power to uphold its vision of a rules-based international order. In contrast, China is establishing the socioeconomic and civilisational foundations of an equitable world order through its vision of a “community with a shared future”.

On Sunday, amid rising concern that a broader regional conflict is in the offing, Israel and Hezbollah engaged in their most intense cross-border strikes since the Gaza war began. Earlier, the US deployed warships and aircraft carriers to the Middle East to deter potential hostility with Iran.

Simultaneously, in the western Pacific, the US is working to contain what it sees as the threat from China through defence alliances and groupings. As the world’s sole superpower, it continues to maintain an extensive global military presence.

However, the US presidential election in November could disrupt this strategy. Republican presidential candidate and former US president Donald Trump seems keen to reduce American military commitments worldwide, leaving allies and partners such as Ukraine, Taiwan and the Philippines uncertain about their future security. Inconsistent global leadership from a deeply divided US could raise doubts about its reliability in defending the rules-based international order.

Despite internal divisions, the US maintains a unified stance on certain key issues, particularly the threat China poses to its global dominance. While Trump might avoid direct military confrontation, he is likely to pursue other strategies to contain China.