IN FIRST FOREIGN POLICY ADDRESS, BIDEN SIGNALS AGGRESSIVE STAND ON CHINA, RUSSIA

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden on Thursday promised a new era after the scattershot foreign policy of his predecessor, Donald Trump, declaring “America is back” on the global stage in his first diplomatic address as president.

In his speech, Biden signalled aggressive approaches to China and Russia, urged Myanmar’s military leaders to halt their coup, and declared an end to US support for a Saudi Arabia-led military campaign in Yemen.

“American leadership must meet this new moment of advancing authoritarianism, including the growing ambitions of China to rival the United States and the determination of Russia to damage and disrupt our democracy. We must meet the new moment ... accelerating global challenges from the pandemic to the climate crisis to nuclear proliferation,” said Biden.

Trump angered European and Asian leaders with tariffs, fracturing of global alliances, and threats to withdraw US troops. He did little to push back against a wave of authoritarianism in some countries.

After a Trump-inspired mob attacked the US Capitol on January 6, protesting Biden’s election victory, foreign allies and rivals alike expressed doubts about the health of American democracy.

The president’s speech on Thursday was a full-throated attempt to vanquish those doubts, and convince Americans of the value of a forceful international approach.

“Investing in our diplomacy isn’t something we do just because it’s the right thing to do for the world,” he said.

“We do it in order to live in peace, security and prosperity. We do it because it’s in our own naked self-interest.”