US officials must assess the impact of projects such as the Jakarta-Bandung railway, especially environmentally and socially, to be able to offer convincing alternatives.
Top-level US-China military communication was halted after Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan last year. But there are now signs of a breakthrough, with concrete action towards renewed defence relations.
The third Belt and Road Forum is likely to have a different atmosphere to the one in 2019 amid changing priorities and a darker global context. Developing nations could bear the brunt as China focuses more on smaller, targeted projects in geopolitically important regions.
The US has lagged behind in its efforts to engage with Pacific island nations, but recent action is attempting to reverse this trend. However, words will only be meaningful if they are followed by concrete action that genuinely involves engaging Pacific nations economically and diplomatically.