China Hawks: Why the U.S. Shouldn’t Pivot Solely to Asia
The China hawks in Washington are sending a clear message, don’t narrow America’s strategic lens to just Asia. In a pointed op-ed, Shay Khatiri and Michael Mazza argue that the United States must adopt a broader Eurasian focus instead of pivoting exclusively to the Indo-Pacific. They caution that doing so risks ignoring intertwined threats from both East and West across the Eurasian supercontinent.
While China remains a significant long-term competitor, the authors contend that framing U.S. strategy solely around the Pacific misses the larger geopolitical picture. Russia’s aggression in Europe, Iran’s destabilizing activities in the Middle East, and China’s global outreach require a holistic approach that treats Eurasia as a single, interconnected theater.
According to the China hawks, a singular Asia pivot risks overextending U.S. resources in one domain while allowing adversaries to exploit vulnerabilities in others. A Eurasia-wide strategy, they argue, enables the U.S. to build coalitions that span NATO, the Quad, and Middle Eastern partnerships, creating a more resilient and adaptable global posture.
Khatiri and Mazza also caution against letting China dominate the policy discourse to the exclusion of broader national interests. They believe a Eurasia-first approach aligns better with current global realities, from economic interdependencies to emerging defense technologies and multilateral threats.
Their call to action is clear: it’s time for U.S. policymakers to expand the map. The world doesn’t end at the Pacific Ocean, and American strategy shouldn’t either.
