The 12-page strategy shared with Newsweek by the White House outlines an approach to “a consequential new period of American foreign policy that will demand more of the United States in the Indo-Pacific than has been asked of us since the Second World War.”
The White House’s plan repeatedly makes explicit reference to an increasingly influential China, officially known as the People’s Republic of China (PRC), which is said to be “combining its economic, diplomatic, military, and technological might as it pursues a sphere of influence in the Indo Pacific and seeks to become the world’s most influential power.”
The plan also asserted that China’s “coercion and aggression spans the globe, but it is most acute in the Indo-Pacific.”
“From the economic coercion of Australia to the conflict along the Line of Actual Control with India to the growing pressure on Taiwan and bullying of neighbors in the East and South China Seas, our allies and partners in the region bear much of the cost of the PRC’s harmful behavior,” the plan said. “In the process, the PRC is also undermining human rights and international law, including freedom of navigation, as well as other principles that have brought stability and prosperity to the Indo-Pacific.”
Now, at this critical juncture, the Biden administration’s plan said that “our collective efforts over the next decade will determine whether the PRC succeeds in transforming the rules and norms that have benefitted the Indo-Pacific and the world.”
As for the U.S., the administration said it was already “investing in the foundations of our strength at home, aligning our approach with those of our allies and partners abroad, and competing with the PRC to defend the interests and vision for the future that we share with others.”
“We will strengthen the international system, keep it grounded in shared values, and update it to meet 21st -century challenges,” the plan said.
And while the plan did not seek direct change to China and its ruling Communist Party, it did frame the strategy in terms of the high-stakes rivalry between the world’s top two powers, a feud that Washington sought to win.
“Our objective is not to change China but to shape the strategic environment in which it operates, building a balance of influence in the world that is maximally favorable to the United States, our allies and partners, and the interests and values we share,” the plan said. “We will also seek to manage competition with the PRC responsibly. We will cooperate with our allies and partners while seeking to work with the PRC in areas like climate change and nonproliferation.”
“We believe it is in the interests of the region and the wider world that no country withhold progress on existential transnational issues because of bilateral differences,” the plan said.
But with relations between Beijing and Washington deteriorating, signs of cooperation among the two powers have been far and few, and their disputes have only intensified. In comments matching the new plan, Secretary of Antony Blinken said Thursday that “China has been acting more aggressively at home and more aggressively in the region and indeed potentially beyond.”
On Friday, Beijing issued a response.
“The remarks made by the U.S. politicians are nothing but a rehash of political lies. China is firmly opposed to such remarks by the U.S. side,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said.
“The U.S. is playing up the ‘China threat’ theory in order to smear, oppress and contain China’s development,” Zhao added. “This fully exposes the deeply-entrenched Cold War mentality and ideological bias of the U.S. side. Speaking of acting aggressively in this region and beyond, the U.S. is second to none.”
The plan’s release followed a joint statement by the top diplomats of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), a coalition of the U.S., Australia, India and Japan seeking to enforce a “free and open Indo-Pacific.”
While this statement did not mention China by name, it did emphasize “adherence to international law, particularly as reflected in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), to meet challenges to the maritime rules-based order, including in the South and East China Seas,” two regions in which Washington and its partners have accused Beijing of violations in the interest of asserting broad Chinese territorial claims.
Beijing has viewed the Quad as a direct threat to its own growing influence in the Asia-Pacific.
“China believes that the so-called Quad group cobbled together by the US, Japan, India and Australia is essentially a tool for containing and besieging China to maintain U.S. hegemony,” Zhao said. “It aims to stoke confrontation and undermine international solidarity and cooperation.”
And he again made reference to the Cold War that ended 30 years ago with the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the dawn of an era of sole superpower status for the U.S.
“I want to stress that as the Cold War is long over, the attempt to forge a so-called alliance to contain China wins no support and leads nowhere,” Zhao said. “Relevant countries should abandon the antiquated Cold War mentality, correct the wrong approach of bloc confrontation and geopolitical games, and contribute to peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific.”
But tensions were rife in the region’s contested seas as the U.S. and its ally, Japan, conducted island-hopping exercises during their Noble Fusion exercises in the East China Sea. Newsweek reported in December how the U.S. Marine Corps and other branches were training for World War II-style campaigns in the region.
While the Pacific theater battle eight decades ago was fought between the U.S. and Japan, frictions with China are the backdrop for the current effort to retool U.S. strategy in the Asia-Pacific. U.S. military newspaper Stars and Stripes reported Thursday that mock enemies featured in the joint U.S.-Japan drills wore ushanka-style hats, not unlike those issued to certain personnel of the Chinese and Russian militaries.
The maneuvers were followed by reports in Chinese state-run media of three simultaneous exercises planned by China’s Eastern, Southern and Northern Theater Commands, which encompass the entirety of the People’s Liberation Army areas of responsibility in the Pacific Ocean.
Chinese diplomatic and military officials have also slammed a recent U.S. decision to approve a $100 million arms sale to Taiwan, which maintains informal ties with Washington but is claimed by Beijing.
“The move by the U.S. grossly interferes in China’s internal affairs, undermines China’s sovereignty and security interests as well as the relations of the two countries and two militaries, and also endangers the peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” Chinese National Defense Ministry spokesperson People’s Liberation Army Senior Colonel Wu Qian said in a statement Wednesday.
Wu said that Beijing had lodged an official protest with Washington, emphasizing that “there is only one China in the world, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory.” And he warned the Chinese military was prepared to take action in the event that a threat to China’s sovereignty was perceived.
“The Chinese People’s Liberation Army will take all necessary measures to safeguard China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, resolutely thwart any form of external interferences and separatist attempts for ‘Taiwan independence’, and continue to promote the process of national reunification,” Wu said.
