References to “Cold War mentality” seem to be used primarily to criticize threatening and zero-sum behavior by the U.S. and its allies.

From tariffs on Chinese products and that recent TikTok ban to slurs about the “kung flu” as the Covid-19 pandemic swept America, President Trump and his team have been expressing their mounting frustration over China and ramping up attacks on an inexorably rising power on the global stage.

While hawks in Washington are clamoring for confrontation with Beijing, the geopolitical factors that have shepherded grand rivalries in the past just aren’t there today with the US and China.

Australian relations with China have worsened in recent months and there’s debate down under about whether Australian officials are taking too much advice from their American counterparts.

With the Trump administration and hawks in Washington clamoring for confrontation with China, it’s probably worth revisiting how that worked out for the US in the past.

The legacy of the Korean War can help us understand how the United States got to this position and also prove instructive as policymakers attempt to craft new strategies moving forward.

It’s clear that today the U.S. believes it stands to gain from a strengthened role for international law in governing use of the Sea. More importantly, it’s a way to set the tone for a future relationship with China guided by mutual adherence to multilateral treaties.

A decisive move would be for Washington to publicly acknowledge what has long been the case: that China has a credible deterrent and that the U.S. and China are mutually vulnerable.