Ukraine conflict will have a significant impact on Asia

Look for the crisis to consolidate alignment among Asia's democracies

James Stavridis

February 24, 2022 17:10 JST

Vladimir Putin speaks about authorizing a special military operation in Ukraine's Donbass region during a special televised address on Feb. 24: it is possible to see the Ukraine crisis creating an uptick in U.S.-China relations. © Reuters

Admiral James Stavridis was 16th supreme allied commander of NATO and 12th dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He spent the bulk of his operational career in the Pacific, and is author of "2034: A Novel of the Next World War."

In the midst of the Ukraine crisis created by Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of his neighbor and deployment of Russian "peacekeepers" in the Donbas region, there are ripple effects reaching far into the Pacific.