China’s global image has deteriorated significantly in the past four years, alienating leading democracies and developing countries alike with aggressive foreign policy, economic coercion, and faltering soft power policies.

The rise in coups and other types of military intervention in South and Southeast Asia will set back democracy by years and has been met by a weak and ineffective response from major global and regional powers.

To manage the increasingly stark geopolitical power shifts of the past decade-plus, the United States should pursue arms control strategies that regulate rivalry and introduce a broader array of reci…