The Trump administration is pushing to resolve the three-year old rift between Qatar and several of its Gulf neighbors before the November U.S. election.

While Southeast Asian countries support the U.S. position on the South China Sea, they fear it could be a flash point for conflict.

Fighting in July interrupted what had been a stretch of relative quiet on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border. The incidents underscored how quickly and unexpectedly this front can erupt. The two countries should take better advantage of a hotline created in 2018 to avoid dangerous misunderstandings.