The U.S. effort to unite partners and allies across Asia in a strong anti-China alliance is proving divisive.

Anglosphere allies Australia and Britain appear firmly in sync with U.S. policy in the Indo-Pacific, but several other regional democracies courted by Washington are far more conflicted — and less willing to stand firmly against China.

While many in Washington are discussing decoupling from China and creating new alliances to restrain its growth, “substantive cooperation will be a win-win and will motivate the right behaviors,” said Heng Chee How, the Singaporean senior minister of state for defense. 

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