US, Japan, India, Australia & ASEAN To Join Hands To Counter A ‘Belligerent’ China

[Shmooglavoue]

US, Japan, India, Australia & ASEAN To Join Hands To Counter A 'Belligerent' China

Japan has laid out plans to strengthen collaboration with India, Australia and ASEAN nations while China continues to make headlines for its increasing hostile presence in the East China Sea attracting conflict with Tokyo. In an attempt to advance regional strategy with the US, India and...

eurasiantimes.com

US, Japan, India, Australia & ASEAN To Join Hands To Counter A ‘Belligerent’ China


Japan has laid out plans to strengthen collaboration with India, Australia and ASEAN nations while China continues to make headlines for its increasing hostile presence in the East China Sea attracting conflict with Tokyo.
In an attempt to advance regional strategy with the US, India and Australia, Japan’s Ministry of Defence has intended to establish a new team solely responsible for the Indo-Pacific affairs.
It is reported that the change expected to be implemented by next month will also see the ministry assigning another international affairs officer to its Bureau of Defence Policy, which will eventually double its staff for coordination with countries other than the US.
The primary focus of the new official in the bureau’s International Policy Division will be to focus on cooperation with quasi-allies India and Australia, as well as Southeast Asian nations. It is also reported that the U.S. has also been looking speed-up country’s cooperation with the Quad that involves Australia, India and Japan.
In the past 2 months, Japan’s defence minister Taro Kono called on the respective counterparts in India, Southeast Asian nations and other nations that all along the Indian Ocean sea lanes to garner support against China’s alleged presence.
As reported by EurAsian Times previously, Japanese coastguards had recently announced that Chinese government ships had been spotted in the waters near the Senakaku/Diaoyu Islands every day since mid-April.
The conflict on the uninhabited disputed islands has been brewing for decades and could see the involvement of the US due to its mutual defence treaty with Japan. Japan’s media notes that the organizational expansion by the Ministry showcases the importance that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government pays to the “Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy”.

The US-China rivalry

The Free and Open Indo-Pacific strategy often viewed as a counter to China’s Belt and Road Initiative was launched by the Japanese PM at the Sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) in 2016. However, China’s trillion-dollar BRI stands much higher than Japan’s Free and Open Indo-Pacific strategy.


The U.S. also a partner in the strategy is perceived by international experts as a counter to Beijing’s increasing global influence on trade and technology.


“The accumulation of economic power and digital influence is the greatest concern in the next decade because it gives Beijing new tools as a revisionist power to try to coerce their neighbours and rewrite the order. It could impact the balance of national security,” tells Eric Sayers, former special assistant to the commander of U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM).


Experts speculate that since the U.S. does not hold much experience in investing in Southeast Asia and the Pacific nations due to which it relies on allies like Japan. To rate and certify infrastructure plans in the Asia-Pacific, the United States, Japan and Australia also established the Blue Dot Network (BDN) in November 2019.


U.S. President Donald Trump said that the BDN was “a major initiative to ensure countries around the world have access to private sector-led, sustainable and trustworthy options for high-quality infrastructure development.”

 

[Travis The Dragon]

I wonder how this will affect tension levels with China. And what Putin will think.

 

[krzepice1976]

China's Maritime Safety Administration have announced plans to carry out military training around the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea - both Vietnam and China claim sovereignty over this area. The exercises will be held from July 1st to the 5th.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1277427884169314304

 

[willrod1989]

I wonder how this will affect tension levels with China. And what Putin will think.

Russia has always been a very reluctant partner with Beijing, only working with them out of necessity to counter the West. I've said it before, but perhaps our best strategy to contain China would be to pursue detente with Russia. They certainly seem to be making overtures of detente with the West, especially after this coronavirus crisis.

 

[rudemarine]

Putin has wanted to be in NATO since the Soviet Union collapsed but NEOCONs in the west said so, just so the big defense contractors could make more money by having them as a so called enemy. Russia was doing joint naval exercises with NATO for awhile, till the big contractors wanted the newly formed friendship stopped. They stopped it by starting the war in Yugoslavia and then bombing Serbia without even speaking to Russia. The majority of Russians today still consider that a slap in the face to their pride. The second slap was NATO and the US slowly pushing east when they had all agreed to never move the Alliance past the German border. From the Georgian conflict to Ukraine. Russia would jump on any offer to be allies with the US, even right now because he likes the American people and what we did stand for and that its only a matter of time before we rid our nation of these traitors like Hillary, Biden, Pelosi, Shumer and the scum that comes with them.

 

[Shmooglavoue]

Putin has wanted to be in NATO since the Soviet Union collapsed but NEOCONs in the west said so, just so the big defense contractors could make more money by having them as a so called enemy. Russia was doing joint naval exercises with NATO for awhile, till the big contractors wanted the newly formed friendship stopped. They stopped it by starting the war in Yugoslavia and then bombing Serbia without even speaking to Russia. The majority of Russians today still consider that a slap in the face to their pride. The second slap was NATO and the US slowly pushing east when they had all agreed to never move the Alliance past the German border. From the Georgian conflict to Ukraine. Russia would jump on any offer to be allies with the US, even right now because he likes the American people and what we did stand for and that its only a matter of time before we rid our nation of these traitors like Hillary, Biden, Pelosi, Shumer and the scum that comes with them.

Issues with corrupt politics in Russia besides (it's not like any major nation doesn't have corrupt politics these days anyways) it really is a travesty if true. The US's relationship with Russia could have been like their relationship with Japan, oncetime mortal enemies making amends after victory/defeat and the US guiding the once fanatical fallen enemy into a new democratic nation and major economic player on the world stage. Such support could have prevented the fighting in Crimea, secured Russia's support against a rising communist China, and opened up Russia for global development and investment.

Instead, Russia stands largely alone suspicious of all it's neighbours, rejected by the US even after assuming a democratic government, and basically all of the negative stereotypes Russia has of the US are proven true. So they'll continue to develop weapons and nukes as a matter of self preservation, as the global community has seemingly rejected them.

Reading up on Russian history, I really feel sorry for the Russians despite everything. Despite their achievments they always seem to hit one tragedy after another, and be viewed as dangerous outsiders by all other nations. I kinda hope that if a WWIII truly does happen, they remain neutral so that they can watch the rest of the world burn around them for a change. That and I'd rather not be enemies with them if it can be helped.