US slams China’s claims in outreach to allies in Asia
WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden and his team hit out at Chinese territorial claims in disputed waters in a series of calls to Asian allies from Japan to the Philippiness and Thailand.
Biden reaffirmed in a call with the Japanese prime minister America’s commitment to defend uninhabited islands controlled by Japan and claimed by China that have been a persistent point of contention between the Asian powerhouses.
Meanwhile, US secretary of state Antony Blinken rejected Chinese territorial claims in a call with his Philippine counterpart and emphasised the strength of the US alliance with Thailand in a telephone discussion with deputy prime minister Don Pramudwinai.
While some observers had anticipated a ratcheting down of Us-china tensions under Biden, the series of calls didn’t indicate any softening of security policies in Asia. The swift outreach to allies across the region comes after China sent an early warning to the new US administration by flying 13 warplanes into the Taiwan Strait over the weekend.
The US move followed Chinese
President Xi Jinping’s call this week for the world to abandon “ideological prejudice” and shun an “outdated Cold-war mentality”.
Biden’s pledge to Japan, which was made in his first call since taking office with Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, poses the risk of the US becoming embroiled in any potential conflict arising in the dispute between China and Japan, the US’S biggest ally in Asia.
“President Biden expressed his unwavering commitment to the defence of Japan, including the application of Article 5 of the Us-japan Security Treaty to the Senkaku Islands,” the Japanese foreign ministry said in a statement.
Biden also expressed a commitment to “extended deterrence”, both governments said, a term that refers to the potential use of nuclear weapons to defend an ally.