Triangular diplomacy a tricky tightrope to walk for Asia-Pacific leaders
Middle and major powers are using trade, investment and technology as weapons of influence in pursuit of triangular diplomacy, a stratagem of Cold War realpolitik. However, the strengths of this approach – agility, ambiguity and tactical scope – hide the dangers of entanglements that escalate instability.
A nation triangulates by balancing and manoeuvring
between two other powers , building leverage, reducing dependency and becoming indispensable to multiple sides without fully committing to any.
Triangular diplomacy is now a prominent approach for leaders negotiating a world where post-war institutions are in decline,
autarkic capitalism is emerging,
military budgets are soaring and multilateral commitments are being reassessed by US President Donald Trump.
President Richard Nixon's emissary,
Henry Kissinger , orchestrated this statecraft in the 1970s by using the Sino-Soviet rivalry to bolster America's power. He fostered closer ties with Beijing and Moscow individually as he kept both unsure of Washington's commitment to either.
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