Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi / Bloomberg
Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi / Bloomberg
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The Trump administration has declassified its strategy to ensure continued domination of China, which focuses on accelerating India’s rise as a counterweight to Beijing and its ability to defend Taiwan against an attack.
National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien on Tuesday publication of the document, entitled “United States Strategic framework for the Indo-Pacific. Approved by President Donald Trump in February 2018, it provides the “overarching strategic guidance” for US action over the past three years and has been released to show the US commitment to keep the Indo-Pacific region free and open until the end of the year. future, O ‘Brien said in a statement.
“Beijing is increasingly pressuring Indo-Pacific countries to subordinate their freedom and sovereignty to a ‘common destiny’ envisaged by the Chinese Communist Party,” O’Brien said in an extensive statement. statement. “The American approach is different. We want to ensure that our allies and partners – all who share the values and aspirations of a free and open Indo-Pacific – can preserve and protect their sovereignty. ”
The document sets out a vision for the region in which North Korea no longer poses a threat, India is dominant in South Asia and the US works with partners around the world to resist Chinese activities to enforce sovereignty by coercion undermine. It is assumed that China will take ‘increasingly assertive’ steps to force the union with Taiwan, warning that its dominance of the latest technologies such as artificial intelligence will pose a profound challenge to free societies. ”
China said the report “sensationalized the theory of ‘China threat’ and showed that the US” went against its own promise against the issue of Taiwan “. ‘
“The content only proves the malicious motives of the US to contain China and sabotage the peace and stability of the region,” Zhao Lijian, spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said at a briefing on Wednesday. ‘We need to ensure that Asia-Pacific is a stage for China and the US to promote cooperation with each other. It should not become an arena where a zero-sum game is played. ”
Where a US-China conflict in the South China Sea could occur
While the timing of the release, just a week before President Joe Biden took office, raised questions about the motive, the Trump administration’s actions to counter China in Asia enjoyed largely dual support. Incoming Biden officials spoke about the need to work more closely with allies and partners against China, which is also an important part of the strategy – especially to strengthen security ties with Australia, Japan and India.
Rory Medcalf, a professor and head of the National Security College at the Australian National University, said the document shows that US policy in Asia is driven by efforts to ‘strengthen allies and counter China’. But he noticed that the strategy was so ambitious that ‘failure was almost certain’ on issues such as the disarmament of North Korea, the maintenance of ‘primacy’ in the region and the finding of international consensus against harmful Chinese economic practices.
“The declassified framework will have lasting value as the beginning of a government blueprint for dealing with strategic rivalry with China,” Medcalf said in a statement. post for the Research Group of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. ‘If the US is serious about the long-term game, it will not be able to choose to order its home domestically and project the power into the Indian Pacific. It will have to do both at the same time. ”
Key highlights in the report include:
China
- Suppose China aims to dissolve US alliances and partnerships in the region. China will take advantage of vacuum cleaners and opportunities created by these reduced ties. ”
- ‘China wants to dominate and employ the latest technologies, including artificial intelligence and bio-genetics, in the service of authoritarianism. Chinese dominance in these technologies will pose a major challenge to the largest societies. ‘
- “China will take increasingly assertive steps to force the union with Taiwan.”
- Acts to “promote Chinese predatory economic practices that freeze foreign competition, undermine American competitiveness, and soften the Chinese Communist Party’s quest to dominate the 21st century economy.”
- “Build an international consensus that China’s industrial policies and unfair trade practices are damaging the global trading system.”
- “Work closely with allies and like-minded countries to prevent Chinese acquisition of military and strategic capabilities.”
In the
- Desired outcome: “India’s preferred partner on security issues is the United States. The two work together to preserve the safety of the sea and counter the Chinese influence in South and Southeast Asia and other regions of mutual interest.
- “India remains prominent in South Asia and takes the leading role in maintaining the security of the Indian Ocean.”
- “Accelerate India’s increase and ability to serve as a net provider of security and key defense partner; strengthens a lasting strategic partnership with India backed by a strong Indian army. ”
- “Strengthens the capacity of emerging partners in South Asia, including the Maldives, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, to contribute to a free and open order.”
Taiwan
- ‘Design and implement a defense strategy capable of, but not limited to: (1) refusing China to maintain air and sea dominance within the’ first island chain ‘in conflict; (2) the defense of the first island chain countries, including · Taiwan; and (3) to dominate all domains outside the first island chain. ”
- “Enables Taiwan to develop an effective asymmetric defense strategy and capabilities that will help ensure its security, freedom from coercion, resilience and the ability to engage China on its own terms.”
North Korea:
- Objective: “Convince the Kim regime that the only way to its survival is to renounce its nuclear weapons.”
- “Maximize the pressure on Pyongyang by using economic, diplomatic, military, law enforcement, intelligence and intelligence tools to paralyze North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction programs, weaken currency flows, weaken the regime and set the conditions for negotiations thereon. aimed at stopping its nuclear power and missile programs, which ultimately achieve the complete, verifiable and irreversible deprivation of the Peninsula. ”
- “Do this by: (1) assisting South Korea and Japan in acquiring advanced, conventional military capabilities; (2) to draw South Korea and Japan closer together. ”
Southeast Asia
- Objective: “Promote and strengthen Southeast Asia and ASEAN’s central role in the security architecture of the region, and encourage it to speak with one voice on key issues.”
- “Promote an integrated Indo-Pacific economic development model that provides a credible alternative to One Belt One Road; create a task force on the best way to use public-private partnerships. ”
– With the help of Philip Heijmans, Iain Marlow and Jing Li
(Updates with China’s answer from fifth paragraph.)