DELAWARE: US President Joe Biden told Indo-Pacific allies on Saturday that he believes China’s increasing military assertiveness is an effort to test the region at a turbulent moment for Beijing.
Biden’s comments were caught by a hot mic after he and fellow leaders of the so-called Quad delivered opening remarks before the press at a summit he’s hosting near his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware.
He said his administration sees Beijing’s actions as a “change in tactic, not a change in strategy.”
China is struggling to pull up an economy pummeled by the coronavirus pandemic and has seen an extended slowdown in industrial activity and real estate prices as Beijing faces pressure to ramp up spending to stimulate demand.
“China continues to behave aggressively, testing us all across the region, and it’s true in the South China Sea, the East China Sea, South China, South Asia and the Taiwan Straits,” Biden told Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
“At least from our perspective, we believe (Chinese President) Xi Jinping is looking to focus on domestic economic challenges and minimize the turbulence in China’s diplomatic relationships, and he’s also looking to buy himself some diplomatic space, in my view, to aggressively pursue China’s interest,” Biden added.
Starting with a trade war that dates back to 2018, China and the United States have grown at odds over a range of issues, from global security, such as China’s claims over the South China Sea, to industrial policy on electric vehicle and solar panel manufacturing.
The administration has repeatedly voiced concerns about Chinese aggression toward Taiwan and more recently on the frequent clashes between Chinese and Philippine vessels in disputed areas of the South China Sea.
At the summit, the leaders agreed to expand the partnership among the coast guards of the Quad nations to improve interoperability and capabilities, with Indian, Japanese and Australian personnel sailing on U.S. ships in the region.
But U.S. officials would not say if those transits would include the contested South China Sea.
China also has longtime territorial disputes involving other claimants including Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei. U.S. officials worry about China’s long-stated goals of unifying Taiwan with China’s mainland and the possibility of war over Taiwan. The self-ruled island democracy is claimed by Beijing as part of its territory.
The leaders in a joint declaration issued following their talks expressed “serious concern about the militarization … and coercive and intimidating maneuvers in the South China Sea.”
(VOA)
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