WASHINGTON: The United States vowed on Friday to commit more diplomatic and security resources to the Indo-Pacific to push back against what its sees as China’s bid to create a regional sphere of influence and become the world’s most influential power.
In a 12-page strategy overview, the Biden administration said it would focus on every corner of the region from South Asia to the Pacific Islands to strengthen its long-term position and commitment.
“The PRC is combining its economic, diplomatic, military, and technological might as it pursues a sphere of influence in the Indo-Pacific and seeks to become the world’s most influential power,” it said referring to the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
“Our collective efforts over the next decade will determine whether the PRC succeeds in transforming the rules and norms that have benefited the Indo-Pacific and the world.”
Release of the document was timed to coincide with a visit to the Indo-Pacific by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken intended to emphasize the priority the United States attaches to the region, even as Washington grapples with a dangerous standoff with Moscow, which has massed some 100,000 troops near Ukraine’s border, stoking Western fears of an invasion.
It also comes after China and Russia declared last week a “no limits” strategic partnership, their most detailed and assertive statement to work together — and against the United States — to build a new international order based on their own interpretations of human rights and democracy.
In its document, the United States vowed to modernize alliances, strengthen emerging partnerships, and invest in regional organizations. It particularly stressed the importance of “a strong India” as a partner in a positive regional vision.
It said the United States would pursue a “free and open Indo-Pacific ... through a latticework of strong and mutually reinforcing coalitions.”
Under an action plan for the next 12-24 months, the document said Washington would “meaningfully expand” its diplomatic presence in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands and prioritize key negotiations with Pacific island states that cover access for the US military and which have appeared to stall in the past year.
“We will refocus security assistance on the Indo-Pacific, including to build maritime capacity and maritime-domain awareness,” it said.
On the highly sensitive potential flashpoint of self-ruled Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own, Washington would work with partners inside and outside the region to maintain peace and stability in the strait dividing the island from China, it said.
Daniel Russel, the top US diplomat for East Asia under the Obama administration, noted the heavy focus on partnerships and networks and called the reference to Taiwan an “interesting nuance.”
“(It) makes clear the administration sees the maintenance of peace and security across the Taiwan Strait as a team effort that includes partners inside and outside the region — reaffirming Washington’s One China Policy, but framing the issue of Taiwan as a broader issue of regional stability.”
The action plan also vows to expand the US coast guard presence and cooperation in South, Southeast Asia and the Pacific, where Washington has identified China as a threat to fishing and free-trade routes.
“We recognize the limitations in our ability to change China, and therefore seek to shape the strategic environment around China,” a senior US administration official told reporters, adding that the document did not embody the administration’s broader China strategy.
“Our China strategy is global in scope. It recognizes the Indo-Pacific is a particularly intense region of competition,” he said.
The document reiterated US plans to launch an Indo-Pacific Economic Framework in early 2022, an initiative the administration hopes will at least partially fill a big gap in engagement with the region since former President Donald Trump quit a multinational trade framework in 2017.
It said the United States’ approach to trade would “meet high labor and environmental standards,” a reference making clear that the administration will stick to its vow to avoid damage to America jobs in economic dealings with the region.
US vows stepped-up Indo-Pacific effort in push back against China
https://arab.news/v8df8
US vows stepped-up Indo-Pacific effort in push back against China
- US unveils strategy overview during Quad Summit, which comes after China and Russia declared last week a “no limits” strategic partnership
Israeli firm loses British Army contract bid
- Subsidiary Elbit Systems UK’s campaign for $2.6bn program was marred by controversy
- Senior govt civil servant overseeing contract was dined, handed free Israel tour
LONDON: A UK subsidiary of Israeli weapons giant Elbit Systems has lost its bid to win a prominent British Army contract, The Times reported.
The loss followed high-profile reporting on controversy surrounding Elbit Systems UK’s handling of the bid.
The subsidiary led one of two major arms consortiums attempting to secure the $2.6 billion bid to prepare British soldiers for war and overhaul army standards.
Rivaling Elbit, the other consortium led by Raytheon UK, a British subsidiary of the US defense giant, ultimately won the contract, a Ministry of Defence insider told The Times.
It had been decided following an intricate process that Raytheon was a “better candidate,” the source said.
Elbit Systems UK’s controversial handling of its contract campaign was revealed in reports by The Times.
A whistleblower had compiled a dossier surrounding the bid that was shown to the MoD last August, though the report was privately revealed to the ministry months earlier.
It alleged that Elbit UK had breached business appointment rules when Philip Kimber, a former British Army brigadier, had reportedly shared information with the firm after leaving the military.
Kimber attending critical meetings at the firm to discuss the training contract that he had once overseen at the ministry, the report alleged.
In one case, Kimber was present in an Elbit meeting and sitting out of view of a camera. He reportedly said he “should not be there,” according to the whistleblower’s report.
In response to a freedom of information request, the MoD later admitted that it had held the dossier for seven months without investigating its claims. Insiders at the ministry blamed the investigative delay on “administrative oversight.”
A month after being pushed on the allegations by The Times, a senior civil servant completed an “assurance review” in September and found that business appointment rules had not been breached.
Other allegations concerned lunches and dinners hosted by Elbit UK in which civil servants at the heart of the contract decision process were invited.
One senior civil servant was dined by the British subsidiary seven times, while rival Raytheon did not host events.
Mike Cooper, the senior responsible owner at army headquarters for the army training program, also traveled to Jerusalem with two senior British military officers.
He took part in a sightseeing tour funded by Elbit Systems, the British subsidiary’s parent company.
In response to the allegations, an MoD spokesperson said in a statement: “The collective training transformation programme will modernise training for soldiers to ensure the British Army can face down the threats of the future.
“We will not comment further until a preferred tenderer announcement is made public in due course.”
Amid mounting criticism of Israel within the British military establishment, four former senior army officers, in a letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, recently urged the government to end involvement with Israeli-owned or Israeli-supported weapons companies.
“Now is not the time to return to business as usual with the Israeli government,” they wrote, urging harsher sanctions.
