U.S. Threat to Sanction China Is Spooking Other Nations in Asia
- U.S. warned China of consequences if it supports Russia in war
- Indonesia, Thailand among countries concerned about sanctions
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U.S. President Joe Biden’s warning of unspecified consequences if China supports Russia has smaller Asian nations worried they’ll be subject to similar penalties for maintaining neutrality over Vladimir Putin’s war.
Southeast Asia will host two meetings later this year -- the Group of 20 summit and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, or APEC -- that would normally bring Biden, Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping under one roof. And the two countries set to host them -- Indonesia and Thailand -- are starting to worry about getting caught in the middle, even though the summits are months away and it isn’t even clear if Putin would turn up.