Meetings and moves worldwide showcased the fracturing of geopolitics in the face of American unpredictability.
In the US, G20 finance ministers, “blindsided” by Russia’s attendance, demanded Moscow be excluded from a summit photo, while the host blamed Canada for trade tensions.
Elsewhere, Ukraine pushed for air defense support at a meeting of allies — notably not including the US — while Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Türkiye institutionalized a recent defense pact and Japan said it would expand military exercises with India as part of Tokyo’s efforts to widen security relationships.
Beijing is not standing idly by: Chinese leader Xi Jinping is on a global tour bookended by summits of two China-dominated groups, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and BRICS.