US President Joe Biden’s message that his predecessor will not deviate from the path of Democrats, Japan’s Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin visited Japan. In Tokyo, they met with their two Japanese counterparts — Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi in a security meeting known as Two Plus Two. It was the first direct meeting of senior officials of the Biden administration with the Japanese opposition. As a result, there are clear indications of what policy the Biden administration is going to adopt in Asia. It is clear from the meeting and the joint statement that they see the rise of China as a huge threat to their interests around the world. They will take a firm stand against that threat in the future. Many do not see the sudden rise in threats and rhetoric against China as a good sign. They are fearful of spreading tension in the region.
Democrats have always been involved in major wars in foreign affairs since World War II. The Korean War began when President Truman was in power. The same goes for the Vietnam War. The first trumpet of the Afghan war was played by Jimmy Carter. Although the Iraq war was started by George W. Bush, the field was cleared by Bill Clinton by making false allegations against Saddam Hussein about building a nuclear arsenal. The journey towards the ultimate downfall of Syria and Libya dates back to the time of Barack Obama. As a result, it is not surprising that Democrats will return to the old ways. However, one has to be surprised to see the speed with which they find new enemies and go down to the ground.
Concluding the meeting in Tokyo, Anthony Blinken and Lloyd Austin both said that democracy and human rights across the region are now being challenged and that the United States will work with allies to advance the idea of a free and open Pacific. They added that while China continues to show intimidation and aggression in achieving its goals, the United States will respond if necessary.
In a joint statement issued after the meeting, the four ministers expressed deep concern over China’s human rights violations in the Xinjiang region, the country’s illegal ownership of the East and South China Seas, and China’s unilateral steps to change the ongoing situation. The statement added that China’s conduct is inconsistent with the existing international system, posing a political, economic, military and technological challenge to the alliance and the international community.
While other issues in the Asia-Pacific region were raised, China was at the center of the discussion for most of the two-plus-two meeting. How concerned the United States and its allies are about China is clear at this time. Such aggressive rhetoric and rhetoric aimed at a single country has never been seen before.
On the other hand, China’s response to the Tokyo meeting was very restrained. Ahead of the meeting, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said the Japan-US dialogue should not be to the detriment of any third party or to target any third country. But the United States has said it will not listen to such advice, as evidenced by last week’s four-nation summit called the Quad.
The four countries are the United States, Japan, India and Australia. The US-led alliance also targets China and its allies. However, they have not yet reached a consensus on what steps they will take to deal with China. China is not a country in the Middle East or Latin America, everyone will benefit if the alliance partners do this calculation in time. As a result, it would be a big mistake for them to have any idea of encircling China in terms of military thinking.
In addition to this, a military structure like NATO needs to be set up in advance, which is not an easy task.
Even if it joins the quad, it will not be possible for Japan to go too far due to some constitutional obligations. On the other hand, India also needs to think about how reasonable it is to capture the enemy hand in hand with the United States. China is not isolated from any other country in the world. In the last two decades, China has built a huge sphere of influence in various activities. China is also not to be despised in terms of military power. So it would be childish to try to corner China with rhetoric, on the contrary it would threaten the whole world.
That is why the two-plus-two or the quad, wherever we talk about China, will not yield any results other than escalating tensions. If you think about human progress, you will see that it is possible to make a positive contribution not only to China, but also to all kinds of negotiations, which will benefit not only the region, but the whole world. However, the new US administration does not seem to be worried about the possibility of such a third route. As a result, it will not be a surprise if new tensions arise in East and South Asia in the future.