proxy war
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A proxy war is a conflict where two opposing powers avoid fighting each other directly but instead support different sides in another country's war or dispute. This matters because it allows powerful nations to pursue their interests and compete with each other while limiting the risk of direct confrontation.
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Article
Soviet military advisers planning operations during the Angolan Civil War (1975–2002), a proxy conflict involving the USSR and United States
In political science, a proxy war is an armed conflict where at least one of the belligerents is directed or supported by an external third-party power. In the term proxy war, a belligerent with external support is the proxy; both belligerents in a proxy war can be considered proxies if both are receiving foreign military aid from a third-party country. Acting either as a nation-state government or as a conventional force, a proxy belligerent acts on behalf of a third-party state sponsor.