The vice president charges against Beijing’s military expansionism in the South China Sea
USA will protect his allies from the bellicosity of Beijing in the South Sea China. She has been promised by his vice president, kamala harrisduring a trip to the region you are looking for strengthen alliances and sell the firm word of Washington. It doesn’t match the context.
“We know that Beijing continues with coercion, intimidation and claims in most of the South China Sea. Their actions undermine the law-based order and threaten the sovereignty of nations & rdquor ;, Harris said in Singaporethe first stage of a diplomatic mission that will also take her to Vietnam. USAhe stated, “it remains faithful to its allies and partners”.
The South China Sea is one of the most unpredictable areas of the Peaceful. There Beijing collects territorial lawsuits with half a dozen countries. The situation has worsened in recent years due to the overwhelming US military presence and the Chinese drive to occupy conflicting waters by way of fait accompli and build artificial islands. According to China, they will favor international traffic. They will serve as military bases, according to Washington.
long conflict
The incubation of the conflict is long. Barack Obama ordered the Turn to the Pacific after years bleeding in the Middle East to counter Chinese influence in the region. The subsequent withdrawal of donald trump, by virtue of its “America First” policy. His unprecedented military budget increases ended up in the Navy and his natural destiny was the Chinese backyard. Since then they have frequented what Washington pompously calls freedom of navigation exercises, which consist of periodically cruising their ships through waters that China considers its own in order to irritate it. “A good part of the history of the 21st century will be written in this region & rdquor ;, Harris instructed the crew of a destroyer at the Singapore base on Monday.
The accumulated resentment against Beijing has been used by the United States to increase its influence but has never found blind adherence. Against Washington plays the risk of a military confrontation that reaches everyone and doubts about its promises.
the shadow of afghanistan
Harris’ agenda in Singapore included fighting cybercrime, coronavirus or the climate changebut the press conferences have not escaped the chaotic withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. He has settled questions about how allies will interpret it with empty arguments and by citing the evacuation of US and Afghan citizens as proof of commitment. The Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, responded that the world will judge Washington for its response in Afghanistan when asked if his government was reconsidering its confidence. Singapore maintains a measured balance between Washington and Beijing, which the latter regrets because it expects more attention from a country with an ethnic Chinese majority. Its foreign minister, Vivian Balakrishnan, delved this week into the equidistance: “Singapore will be useful but it will not be used & rdquor; and it will not become a pawn in the agendas of the two great powers.
The Chinese press this morning underlines Harris’s difficulties in adapting his message to the facts. “The United States should bury the illusion of alienating a single Southeast Asian country with China (…) Regional governments will keep their distance from the United States. China is the largest trading partner of almost all of them and there will be none stupid enough to sacrifice that enormous profit to become American cannon fodder & rdquor ;, pointed out the morning. He also remembered that his next stage is Ho Chi Minh, the old Saigon, where half a century before helicopter photos were taken that are repeated these days.