The Biden administration on Friday (11th) announced a long-announced Indo-Pacific strategy that will deepen economic cooperation with Asian countries including Taiwan. The Biden administration is increasingly confident that China is watching the U.S. response to the crisis in Ukraine to gauge the likely pattern of U.S. aggressive action against Taiwan, a U.S. official said on condition of anonymity.
In the 12-page document, the United States will strengthen its ability to respond to climate change, avoid another wave of outbreaks, and confront China’s aggressive and coercive behavior.
The Biden administration hopes to use the Indo-Pacific strategy to strengthen ties with Asian allies and counter China’s rising economic and military power. It is the latest effort by Biden to pledge to rebuild regional ties after taking office, hoping to put pressure on Beijing on issues such as human rights and trade.
Daniel Russel, a U.S. East Asian diplomat in the Obama era, said that the Indo-Pacific strategy’s focus on partnership and the mention of Taiwan is worth noting, “This shows that in the eyes of the Biden administration, maintaining peace and security in the Taiwan Strait requires partners inside and outside the region. The issue of group cooperation. The document reaffirms Washington’s one-China policy, but shapes the Taiwan Strait debate as a broader regional stability issue.”
In the Indo-Pacific Strategy, which outlines an action plan for the next 12 to 24 months, Washington will also expand its diplomacy with Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands, prioritizing key negotiations with the Pacific Islands. The document reiterates that the United States intends to launch the Indo-Pacific economic framework in early 2022, hoping to bridge some of the gaps created after former President Donald Trump withdrew from the regional trade framework.
U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is still due to call on India, Japan and Australia this week as the Russian-Ukrainian crisis escalates and China and Russia strengthen their strategic partnership.
“Everyone else is looking at how we (Western countries) respond to the (Ukraine crisis),” Blinken said at an Australian news conference on Friday, without naming China.
Washington is increasingly convinced that Beijing views the U.S. response to the Ukrainian crisis as a future U.S. attitude on the Taiwan Strait, three U.S. officials said. The United States also wants to ensure that Beijing and its rivals don’t see last year’s chaotic troop withdrawal from Afghanistan as a model for future U.S. crises.