US seeks better ties with allies in Indo-Pacific

WASHINGTON/BEIJING: The US has initiated major defence department efforts to better address the security challenge from China, including steps to “streamline and strengthen” cooperation with allies, especially in the Indo-Pacific region.

US defence secretary Lloyd Austin announced the initiatives on Wednesday based on the recommendations from the China Task Force, which was unveiled by President Joe Biden in February to provide an assessment of existing steps and to chalk out priorities.

Based on the recommendations, Austin issued a directive initiating several departmentwide efforts to better address the security challenges posed by China as America’s “No. 1 pacing challenge”, the Pentagon said.

The measures are designed to “focus departmental processes and procedures and better help department leaders contribute to whole-of-government efforts to address the challenge from China”.

Earlier, China accused the US of being “full of Cold War mentality” after the Senate passed a sweeping industrial policy bill to counter the economic threat from Beijing. America’s political parties supported pumping over $170bn into research and development.

The United States Innovation and Competition Act is seen as crucial for US efforts to avoid being out-manoeuvred by Beijing as they compete in the race for technological innovation.

In another development, Biden withdrew a series of Trump-era executive orders that sought to ban new downloads of WeChat and TikTok.