As the war in Ukraine runs longer, calls for the US to pull back from that conflict and refocus on Asia are getting louder. Interestingly, however, one hears less of that critique in Asia itself. America's frontline allies in the region understand that what happens in Ukraine won't stay there – it will either strengthen or weaken a larger global order on which they depend.
This became clear last month, when I traveled to Seoul for the Asian Leadership Conference. At an event nominally focused on Asia, Ukraine was front and centre.
South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol opened the conference by declaring that the world must "never allow the illegal invasion of Ukraine … to become a successful precedent." The other headliner was Ukraine's first lady, Olena Zelenska, a choice that speaks volumes about the war's prominence in Asian security debates.
