Tobin Harshaw, Columnist

If China Invades Taiwan, Who Will Stand With the US?

Japan, Australia, India and the UK would all be essential partners if Beijing decides to move against Taipei.

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It’s no secret that the US has the world’s dominant military. But it also has a secret weapon: friends. And of late, they’ve been more like BFFs: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has hung tough against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and is adding two new members; the so-called Quad, a security partnership with Australia, India and Japan, has been reinvigorated; and last year, Washington formed a new alliance with Australia and Britain known as AUKUS.

While these relationships have been strengthened by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s bungled war, we don’t know how they might they fare if facing a far more serious crisis and opponent: a Chinese assault of Taiwan. Bloomberg Opinion sent our columnist Hal Brands on a mission to four nations that could be critical in repelling any aggression from Beijing. Hal’s overview and his dispatches from Tokyo, Sydney, New Delhi and London are all worth your time.

We did a debriefing as a Twitter Spaces event on Tuesday. Below is a condensed transcript of our chat: