Will Biden bash Beijing?

United States foreign policy under the Obama/ Biden administration could be characterized as ranging from impotent to counterproductive to both US and global interests.

In 2017, the Pacific Council on International Policy held a weekendlong discussion—“was Obama’s Foreign Policy a Success?” Before the debate, 56 percent voted “yes” and 44 percent voted “no.”

The two standout foreign policy accomplishments were the killing of Osama bin Laden in 2012 and the fact that Iran did not test a nuclear weapon. No mention was made that probably under US development and leadership, the Stuxnet malicious computer worm crippled Iran’s nuclear program for nearly two years.

On the opposite side of the debate, some clear failures were pointed out. Kim Jong-un produced at least 60 nuclear weapons and the ICBMS to threaten the region. Russia invaded Ukraine and annexed Crimea. Most important for the Philippines, “China annexed the South China Sea because the Obama administration did not engage in freedom of navigation patrols.”

American humorist Will Rogers said that “Diplomacy is the art of saying “nice doggie” until you can find a big rock” to hit it in the head. Carl von Clausewitz, Prussian general and military theorist, wrote: “War is the continuation of politics by other means.”

While not unique among nations, the US in particular has focused its foreign policy on individual leaders. The US Declaration of Independence has 27 points, which could be listed under the subheading of “King George III Bad.”

In 1939, President Franklin Roosevelt allegedly said this about Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza: “Somoza may be a son of a bitch, but he’s our son of a bitch.” Even if Roosevelt did not say this, it expressed the American attitude.

Obama/biden never picked up the “big rock” unless the leader was weak, as in the case of the regional disaster of the US overthrowing and killing Gaddafi in Libya. Russia’s annexation of Crimea and China’s massive expansion in South China Sea was met with US sanctions. But economic sanctions—like rules—are meant to be broken, evaded with loopholes, and ignored by other nations.

Since Joe Biden entered the White House, both Russia and China have become more aggressive. Russia has been building its troop strength and conducting drills on the border with Ukraine for nearly a month. Chinese warplanes have repeatedly been penetrating Taiwan’s airspace since January in numbers not seen before. And China’s fleet of “fishing boats” in the Philippines’s Exclusive Economic Zone is probably targeted more at Washington, D.C. than Manila.

Announced last week in the US Senate is a legislative measure— “Strategic Competition Act of 2021”—aimed clearly at China. The measure includes both economic and military components. The bill “stresses the need to prioritize the military investments necessary to achieve United States political objectives in the Indo-pacific.” The bill “recommends a total of $655 million in Foreign Military Financing funding for the region.”

The author, Senator Bob Menendez, said: “This is an effort to mobilize all US strategic, economic, and diplomatic tools for an Indo-pacific strategy that will allow our nation to truly confront the challenges China poses to our national and economic security. The legislation will have a profound effect on every Chinese technology firm.”

The bill would also earmark $10 million “to promote democracy in Hong Kong” and would void all restrictions on US officials’ interaction with Taiwanese counterparts. President Biden said China won’t become “the most powerful country” on his watch. Perhaps Biden has already started bashing Beijing.