It's pretty telling that several western leaning nations/political groups in Asia have been defeated by non-Western adversaries. We've now seen this in Armenia

It's pretty telling that several western leaning nations/political groups in Asia have been defeated by non-Western adversaries. We've now seen this in Armenia, Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and now Kazakhstan. I think the geopolitical message is pretty clear - EU/US will not protect you. Alliances with them cost little, but have little protective value. Russia/Iran/China/Turkey might force you to pay a higher price for their protection, but at the end of the day, they will actually protect you.