Alas, Peru-US conflict is expected (2,3,5)
I believe the answer is:
as per usual
'expected' is the definition.
Both the definition and answer are adjectives.
Perhaps you can see a link between them that I can't see?
'alas peru-us conflict' is the wordplay.
'conflict' indicates anagramming the letters (I've seen 'conflicting' mean this (conflicting can mean confusing or unclear)).
'alas'+'peru'+'us'='alasperuus'
'alasperuus' with letters rearranged gives 'AS PER USUAL'.
'is' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for as per usual that I've seen before include "In the normal manner" , "Predictably" , "in customary style" , "not unexpectedly" , "Generally" .)