A P-3C patrol plane from the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force flies over disputed islets known as Senkaku Islands in Japan and Diaoyu Islands in China in 2011.
Photographer: AFP / Getty Images
Photographer: AFP / Getty Images
US President Joe Biden and his team established initial opposition to Chinese territorial claims in a series of ties to Asian allies, while Beijing warned that trying to contain the country was an “impossible mission”.
Biden reaffirmed in a phone call with the Japanese Prime Minister the commitment of the United States to defend the uninhabited islands controlled by Japan and claimed by China that have been a persistent point of contention between the Asian powers. Meanwhile, the recently confirmed U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, rejected Chinese territorial claims in connection with his Filipino counterpart and emphasized US alliances in negotiations with senior Australian and Thai officials.
Photographer: Graeme Jennings / The Washington Examiner / Bloomberg
Although some observers anticipated a slowdown in US-China tensions under Biden, the series of calls did not indicate any easing of security policies in Asia. Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier this week called on the world to abandon “ideological prejudice” and avoid an “outdated Cold War mentality” by signaling in his first international speech since Biden entered the White House that Beijing would continue to make their own way regardless of criticism.
Over the weekend, China sent an early warning to the new United States government by flying 13 warplanes across the Taiwan Strait. Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman, senior colonel Wu Qian, said at a regular press conference on Thursday that trying to contain China was an “impossible mission” and asked the US military to use the “new starting point” “to bring relations back on track.
Japanese Ties
Biden’s promise to Japan, which was made on his first call since taking office as Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, risks the United States becoming involved in any potential conflict that arose in the dispute between China and Japan, the biggest US ally in Asia. Suga and Biden spoke in the early hours of Thursday, Japan time, according to a statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“President Biden expressed his unwavering commitment to Japan’s defense, including the application of Article 5 of the US-Japan Security Treaty to the Senkaku Islands,” the ministry said. Biden also expressed a commitment to “extended deterrence,” said the two governments, a term that refers to the potential use of nuclear weapons to defend an ally.
Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea in 2012 ..
Ships from Japan and China frequently come in close contact around the islands of the East China Sea – called Senkakus in Japan and Diaoyus in China – raising concerns about a greater confrontation. China this month passed a law that allows coast guard ships to fire on foreign ships, which could increase tensions with several of its Asian neighbors.
The White House said in its statement that Biden and Suga discussed “the U.S‘unwavering commitment to the defense of Japan ”, specifying that this covers the Senkaku Islands. Japan, whose pacifist constitution limits the activities of its military, seeks regular US guarantees – its only defense ally. Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin have made similar comments about the island’s defense in talks with their Japanese colleagues in recent days.
Maritime claims
Earlier this week, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the Biden administration was addressing its relationship with Beijing with “patience ”and plans to review the hardline policies that were the hallmark of Donald Trump’s presidency.
Blinken told Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin that the US rejects China’s maritime claims in the South China Sea if they exceed the sea zones China is permitted under international law, and has pledged to support claimants in the Southeast Asia in the face of Chinese pressure. Malaysia and Vietnam are among other countries involved in similar disputes with China, which it claims about 80% of the resource-rich South China Sea.
South China Sea
The construction of an artificial island in China ignites tensions
Source: Bloomberg
China’s Foreign Ministry has reaffirmed its claims to territory in the eastern and southern seas of China in response to questions on Thursday about US diplomatic calls. “We hope non-regional countries will fully respect the efforts of China and regional countries to deal adequately with maritime differences and disputes and to safeguard peace and stability, ”said ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian at a regular briefing in Beijing.
Blinken also discussed with Thai Deputy Prime Minister Don Pramudwinai the importance of working together to “promote our prosperity, security and shared values across the free and open Indo-Pacific region”
In a call with Australian Chancellor Marise Payne, Blinken reaffirmed his commitment to the so-called Quad. This is a grouping of USA, Australia, India and Japan that was elevated under the Trump administration and was warned by China as a “clique” that could stoke a new Cold War.
– With the help of Colum Murphy, Lucille Liu and Jie Hou
(Updates with comments from the Chinese Ministry of Defense in the first paragraph.)