How is great power competition today relevant to territorial autonomies? The competition between established and rising powers has implications for all political actors across the world, including territorial autonomies. However, the interaction between the rivalry among the great powers and the politics of territorial autonomies has been seldom scrutinised, at least not when addressing the early XXIst century. This commentary proposes three points where these topics connect: the territorialisation of foreign policy, patronage and networking, and meddling and unsettling conflict. By raising these points, this commentary aims to spark a new discussion on how territorial autonomy and international relations at the global level interact in the current era.