The U.S. response to the Russia-Ukraine crisis

Russia's unprovoked assault on Ukraine has faced universal condemnation from Western powers. Sanctions against Russia and aid to Ukraine have come from many directions. But putting troops on the ground in Ukraine, which is not a member of NATO, is a line that the US and other Western allies have not been willing to cross.

Then China’s attempt to take Taiwan by force is unpredictable, with China apparently learning from the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 
Taiwan and mainland China have been separately governed since they split as a result of a civil war in 1949. Beijing regards democratic Taiwan as a breakaway province and has vowed to unify it with the mainland, by force if necessary. Chinese pressure on Taiwan has increased in recenly, most visibly in its military flights into Taiwan's air-defense identification zone, a self-declared area that is not territorial airspace.

Ddeterrence posture in the Pacific puts a very different perspective on all of this. We closely watch US actions toward Russia, Ukraine.