The intensification of the rivalry between China and the United States for leading positions in the Asia-Pacific is projected onto other actors. India and Vietnam, among others, were involved in the US-China confrontation. Both of these states have disagreements with the PRC, but at the same time, cooperation with Beijing is an objective necessity for them. Under the circumstances, Hanoi and New Delhi are not only ready to balance Chinas rising power in the Asia-Pacific by strengthening ties with the US, but are also developing their own partnership networks beyond the great powers. This article examines the geostrategic aspects of cooperation between Hanoi and New Delhi. Special attention was paid to trade, economic and defense ties of both countries. At the same time, the paper provides an analysis of the Indian-Vietnamese partnership in the context of territorial disputes in the South China Sea. The provisions and conclusions given in this article are based on official documents and news agency reports, as well as research works of Russian and foreign scholars.

Australia–China bilateral relations have been business oriented and pragmatic for at least 30 years. However, the period of 2019 – mid-2022 brought a more emotional political component to the interaction of the two countries. Contradictions began to accumulate between Australia and China, including those related to the vision of the future of the AsiaPacific, which subsequently turned into an urgent confrontation. Australian academic and political circles have long feared that China might take advantage of the status of the main Australia's trading partner and use the "trade punishment" measures amid growing diplomatic tensions between the two countries. The events of the past two years have made it possible to analyze these concerns in practice and determine the place of the food issue in Australia– China trade disputes. The provisions and conclusions presented in this article are based on official documents, news agency reports, as well as research by Asia-Pacific scientists.

Due to China's increasing involvement in South Pacific, there is a growing interest on the part of the middle and great powers in providing the Pacific island States with an increasing amount of material assistance. With its unique geographical location, as well as numerous initiatives in the humanitarian, trade, economic and defence areas, Australia's influence is reinforced by its status as the major ODA source in Oceania. At the same time, despite Australia's clear advantage in providing ODA to South Pacific states, the region is attracting an increasing number of countries aimed at providing ODA to South Pacific countries, especially China.

President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin announced the launch of a Special Military Operation (SMO) in Ukraine on February 24, 2022. It was a turning point for the entire world order and reverberated in many areas of the globe. The Asia-Pacific was also no exception. While the United States and its allies tried to impose a negative attitude to Russia's actions on the world, the reaction of the Asia-Pacific countries was more restrained. On this background, it seems necessary to analyze the perception of situation in the South Pacific, the traditional leader of which — Australia — largely adheres to the U.S. foreign policy vector, while among the Pacific Island Countries there's a growing demand for a more sovereign course. The analysis of the reaction of regional actors to the SMO requires a comprehensive approach, which is why the author analyzed the current situation in political, economic and social dimen-sions.

Oceania is known for its extensive exclusive economic zones (EEZs), favorable location at the crossing of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, as well as potentially large reserves of natural resources. Despite the fact that this region is more remote from an eventual area of military operations than Southeast Asia or the Indian Ocean Countries, it's facing a more and more attention from leading regional and extra-regional actors. The United States is no exception. For many decades, Washington strengthened its military, economic and socio-humanitarian positions in Micronesia, but at the beginning of the 21st century, the People's Republic of China (PRC) began to take an increasingly active part in Oceania's affairs, which later became the U.S.'s competitor for regional and global leadership. Initially, the United States expected that Australia would assume the status of China's main rival in Oceania and try to reduce the pace of his convergence with the Pacific Island Countries (PICs). But it later turned out that Canberra was not up to the task. Because of this, the U.S. has tried to institutionalize its presence in South Pacific, but faced with the consequences of the transformation of the regional architecture.