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The National
10 hours ago
- Politics
- The National
The US is pushing its Asia Pacific allies closer to China
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was full of warm words on his recent visit to Kuala Lumpur for the Association of South-East Asian Nations Foreign Ministers' Meeting. 'This century and the next – the story of the next 50 years will largely be written here in this region,' he said. Also in attendance were representatives of Asean Dialogue Partners, including China, Australia, Japan, Russia, Canada, South Korea, New Zealand and India. Mr Rubio later said he had 'very positive engagements', such as a 'very productive meeting' with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi. It wasn't clear, however, that everyone shared his sentiments. For they came at a moment when American foreign policy in the Asia Pacific is looking increasingly incoherent and even counterproductive. Within the past couple of weeks, the prime ministers of both Japan and Australia have called for their countries to be more independent and less dependent on America. This is a significant shift, given that they are the US's strongest allies in the region, and caused consternation among those who believe these countries should always be in 'lockstep' with Washington. 'We need to work to become more self-sufficient in security, energy and food, and less dependent on America,' Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba told a news programme. Tokyo's relations with Beijing have warmed since Mr Ishiba took office last October. Reciprocal ministerial visits have taken place that did not happen under his predecessor; both countries have eased visa regimes for each other's citizens; and China has resumed importing beef from Japan after a 24-year ban. China's Mr Xi must be quietly smiling to himself True, Japan's defence ministry has just issued a white paper that called China's military a 'strategic threat' and there was a close call between air force planes belonging to the two countries over the East China Sea last week. But the overall trajectory under Mr Ishiba – whom critics accuse of 'cosying up to China' – is clear. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made his statement on July 5 in a speech honouring his country's Second World War leader John Curtin. Remembering the example set by Mr Curtin, when he insisted that Australian troops should return to defend their homeland, rather than be shipped to fight the Japanese in Burma – as then-UK prime minister Winston Churchill and then-US president Franklin Roosevelt wanted – Mr Albanese stressed 'above all, the confidence and determination to think and act for ourselves. To follow our own course and shape our own future'. He talked of 'a recognition that Australia's fate would be decided in our region ... speaking for ourselves, as a sovereign nation'. To Australian ears, it was quite clear that Mr Albanese was calling for less reliance on America and a more independent Australian foreign policy – to the fury of proponents of a 'hug 'em close' relationship with the US. 'The Labour Party has had to be dragged kicking and screaming to give any support whatsoever to the American alliance. Albanese joins a long line of Labour leaders who are committed to selfish isolationism,' wrote an evidently heated former Australian foreign minister Alexander Downer earlier this week. 'We are withdrawing from our traditional support for liberal democracy and mutual reinforcement of alliances into a concept of self-defence at our borders.' Mr Albanese would beg to differ – after all, he had said nothing of the sort. What he did underline, however, was the idea that 'we can choose the way we engage with our region and deal with the world'. Doubling down on that, the Australian Prime Minister – accompanied by an entourage of business leaders – is currently on a six-day visit to China, where he has enjoyed a private lunch with President Xi Jinping and a walk along the Great Wall. He, like Japan's Mr Ishiba, sees the value of a constructive relationship with their biggest trading partner – which is China, in both cases. So there could hardly be a worse time for US defence officials to be 'demanding' that Japan and Australia clarify what they would do in the event of a US-China war over Taiwan, as has recently been reported. Given that the US is not officially committed to Taiwan's defence if reunification were to be attempted, this is a hypothetical of a hypothetical, and not one that either country wants to discuss. US Under-Secretary for Defence Elbridge Colby, a well-known China-hawk who is believed to be behind the reports, also runs the risk of getting an answer he doesn't want. One of Mr Albanese's predecessors as prime minister, Paul Keating, has stated flatly that 'Taiwan is not a vital Australian interest' and has said that it is 'fundamentally a civil matter' for China. Forced to confront this issue during his China trip, Mr Albanese didn't go as far as Mr Keating, but he did say: 'What we do is continue to support a one-China policy. We support the status quo.' Elsewhere in the region, Malaysians are up in arms about Washington's proposed new ambassador to Kuala Lumpur, a self-proclaimed 'alpha male' called Nick Adams, who has claimed to have had a waitress dismissed for wearing a 'Free Palestine' pin and who last year posted on X: 'If you don't stand with Israel, you stand with terrorists!' US President Donald Trump's choice for ambassador to Singapore, Anjani Sinha, may be a surgeon, but going by his weak performance during a US Senate confirmation hearing last week, he may be scarcely more qualified than Mr Adams. (Senator Tammy Duckworth told him he needed to 'shape up and do some homework' about the island-state.) And of course, no one is happy about the wave of tariffs the US is due to impose on August 1. Whatever rates they are set at – it seems countries will be lucky if they are as low as 20 per cent – they will hurt. Perhaps it's a lack of co-ordination or surprising ignorance – in the case of Mr Adams – but while the alliances will hold, and few if any leaders will want to enter into a public spat with Mr Trump, it's hardly a strategy to win hearts and minds. American unpredictability and caprice are already having an effect on the Asia Pacific. China's Mr Xi must be quietly smiling to himself. As for Mr Rubio, 'the story of the next 50 years' may well be 'largely written' in the region. But unless the US changes course on a number of fronts, it may not be one he would like to read.
Yomiuri Shimbun
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Prison Sentence for Japanese Employee: Visiting China with Peace of Mind Impossible under Its Judicial System
China cannot be called a nation governed by the rule of law, considering that, throughout the legal proceedings, it was never sufficiently specified what kind of conduct allegedly violated the law. China needs to change its opaque judicial system. The Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court, a district court, has sentenced a Japanese man — an employee of Astellas Pharma Inc. — who was indicted on suspicion of espionage, to 3½ years in prison. The trial was closed to the public, but Japanese Ambassador to China Kenji Kanasugi and others were allowed to attend the session at which the ruling was handed down. According to the ambassador, the court explained the alleged espionage activities to some extent. But he said, 'It was not something that could be considered transparent.' When the extremely grave judicial decision of a prison sentence is to be handed down, it would make sense to show the content of the judgment. It is obvious that China's judicial procedures deviate greatly from the norms of the international community. China enforced a counterespionage law in 2014 to intensify its surveillance of foreigners. A total of at least 17 Japanese nationals have been detained on suspicion of espionage and other charges. Five of them, including the man who received a prison sentence this time, have not been released. It is extremely regrettable that the Chinese side has not complied with the Japanese government's repeated requests for the early release of the Japanese nationals, including this man. The counterespionage law was amended in 2023. In addition to 'state secrets,' the theft or provision of 'documents and data relating to national security and interests,' among others, were included as acts of espionage. There is concern that this will lead to more arbitrary application of the law by Chinese authorities. Meanwhile, China has shown a willingness to improve relations with Japan. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, a member of the Communist Party's Political Bureau, stated at a meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya in Malaysia this month: 'Bilateral relations have shown a momentum of improvement and development. This situation deserves to be cherished.' At the end of June, China lifted the ban on imports of Japanese marine products that it had imposed following the release of treated water from Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. It also validated an animal health and quarantine agreement between Japan and China to resume imports of Japanese beef, which have been suspended since 2001. China may be aiming to create distance between Japan and the United States by improving relations with Japan in preparation for an intensified confrontation with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. In Japan, however, concerns that Japanese nationals might be detained in China have spread, mainly among the business community and academic circles, leading to moves to suspend or cancel visits to China or residences in the country. If the safety of Japanese nationals is not ensured, the flow of people traveling between Japan and China will not progress, and building a stable relationship will become difficult. China should be aware of this. (From The Yomiuri Shimbun, July 17, 2025)
Express Tribune
14 hours ago
- Business
- Express Tribune
Pakistan, China agree to deepen ties
Listen to article The foreign ministers of Pakistan and China on Wednesday agreed to further bolster their bilateral cooperation in order to promote regional peace, stability and development. Senator Ishaq Dar and Wang Yi met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting in Tianjin and reviewed bilateral ties and discussed regional and international development. The meeting took place before Dar wrapped up his three-day trip to China where he went to attend the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers meeting. A statement issued by the Foreign Office said Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi reaffirmed the two countries' commitment to strengthen their strategic partnership. Dar congratulated Wang Yi on the successful hosting of the SCO foreign ministers' meeting and expressed gratitude for the warm hospitality extended by China during the event. The two leaders held extensive discussions on issues of mutual interest, including progress on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and enhanced multilateral cooperation. Underscoring the significance of the Pakistan-China All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership, both sides expressed satisfaction over their ongoing close collaboration across various fields. They also reiterated their resolve to further bolster bilateral ties to promote regional peace, stability, and development. The two ministers also discussed the upcoming visit of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif took China. The prime minister is set to attend the SCO heads of governments meeting in late August but he will also meet President Xi Jinping. According to officials familiar with the development, the prime minister will be accompanied by Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir. The upcoming trip by Pakistan's top civil and military leadership carries added significance in the wake of the four-day military conflict with India during which Pakistan gained the upper hand, with its air force shooting down six Indian fighter jets, including the French-made Rafale. The conflict drew attention to China's military hardware, with several Western capitals closely monitoring the developments in South Asia. Chinese-made J-10C fighter jets and beyond-visual-range PL-15 missiles played a critical role. However, it was Pakistan's indigenous systems integration that made the Chinese hardware even lethal. During a recent visit to Pakistan, the chief of the Chinese Air Force expressed a keen interest in learning from Pakistan's combat experience and multi-domain operations. In a related development, the Indian Deputy Chief of Army Staff recently claimed that India was engaged in a two-front conflict, while pointing out Chinese involvement in Pakistan's military success. Pakistan procures 80 per cent of its military hardware from China. However, the Pakistan army chief at a recent Corps Commanders' meeting clarified that the May conflict was "unmistakably bilateral". Meanwhile, Foreign Minister returned to Islamabad after concluding a successful two-day visit to China for the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers, according to his office. In addition to participating in the main SCO CFM proceedings and the joint call on President Xi Jinping, the DPM/FM held bilateral meetings with his counterparts from SCO member states, it said. China's foreign minister said on Wednesday that China was willing to deepen cooperation with Pakistan in agriculture, industry and mining, as he met with his Pakistani counterpart in Tianjin, according to a Chinese statement. China "supports Pakistan in carrying out its anti-terrorism operations" and believes Pakistan would "do its utmost" to ensure the safety of Chinese personnel, projects and institutions in Pakistan, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Pakistan's Ishaq Dar. With additional input from Reuters
NHK
16 hours ago
- Politics
- NHK
Kallas: EU, US together supporting Ukraine can push Russia into ceasefire
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas says she wants to press Russia to consider a ceasefire by signaling that the European Union and the United States will together support Ukraine. Kallas sat down with NHK for an exclusive interview in Brussels on Wednesday. The remark comes as the administration of US President Donald Trump has started considering putting more pressure on Russia. She described Trump's recent announcement that the US would send more weapons to Ukraine through NATO members as "definitely a positive sign." She added she hopes that the US is also "going forward with the sanctions or higher tariffs for Russia" to deprive it of funding the conflict with Ukraine. Kallas went on to say: "And if we both send the signals to Russia that you can't outlast us, we will support Ukraine. You can't, you know, outfight us, then this will also change the calculus of Russia." She was then asked about US media reports on remarks Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi made during a meeting with Kallas. The reports quoted Wang as saying that Beijing cannot accept Russia losing its war against Ukraine because that could allow the US to turn its full attention to China. Kallas confirmed that he made the remark, and said she was surprised. She said she intends to strengthen efforts to stop China from providing Russia with dual-use goods. As for the EU-Japan relationship, Kallas said the two sides are "very like-minded partners on almost all the issues," and expressed the need to boost bilateral cooperation.
The Diplomat
17 hours ago
- Business
- The Diplomat
China's Position on Russia and Ukraine Is a Warning to the West and the Pacific
Wang Yi's remarks confirm what many have long suspected: China's interests are best served not by stability, peace, or sovereignty, but by a prolonged conflict. The recent revelation that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told EU leaders that Beijing does not want to see Russia lose its war in Ukraine is not just a diplomatic slip; it is a moment of clarity. Behind closed doors, China has dropped the mask of neutrality and revealed a sobering truth: it views a Russian defeat not as a moral failure or geopolitical catastrophe, but as a threat to its own strategic ambitions. This quiet admission, made to the EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, cuts sharply against Beijing's carefully curated public stance. China claims it is a disinterested bystander in the Ukraine conflict. However, Wang's remarks confirm what many in global diplomatic circles have long suspected: China's interests are best served not by stability, peace, or sovereignty, but by a distracted, divided, and weakened West. To understand why, we must revisit the so-called 'no limits' partnership between China and Russia, announced just weeks before the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Although not a formal military alliance, this strategic pact underscores a shared worldview. Both nations resent the dominance of liberal democracies and seek to reshape the global order in their own authoritarian image. Since the invasion, China has supported Russia's economy through trade, provided diplomatic cover in international forums, and participated in joint military exercises. At the same time, it continues to claim neutrality, masking its support for Russia behind the guise of plausible deniability. Wang's frank admission reveals the deeper logic behind this alignment. If Russia collapses in Ukraine, the United States and its allies will be free to pivot fully toward the Indo-Pacific and focus on deterring China's growing assertiveness, especially regarding Taiwan. In this strategic calculation, the prolongation of war, and the suffering it causes, is considered an acceptable cost if it keeps the West overextended. This is a profoundly cynical and destabilizing position. It confirms that, in the eyes of China's leadership, values such as territorial integrity, international law, and the protection of civilians are expendable. It also exposes a chilling willingness to allow or even encourage ongoing conflict if doing so creates space for China to advance its own interests. As an alumna of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), I have worked alongside legislators from democracies large and small who see this moment for what it truly is: a test. China is not simply observing how the West responds to Russia's invasion. It is studying our unity, our resilience, and our tolerance for risk. The outcome in Ukraine will directly influence Beijing's decisions regarding Taiwan and its broader conduct across the Indo-Pacific. In the Pacific, this challenge is no longer hypothetical. It is unfolding in real time. Through cyber influence operations and debt-leveraged infrastructure projects with potential military uses, Beijing is actively reshaping the region's strategic landscape. For small island developing states, whose survival depends on the integrity of international law and multilateral institutions, any erosion of those norms poses a direct threat to sovereignty and self-determination. This is why continued support for Ukraine is not solely about defending the right of a European nation to exist. It is about upholding a global order that protects all nations, especially those that are small and vulnerable. If Ukraine is forced into a territorial compromise, or if the West retreats under pressure, it will send a dangerous message to authoritarian powers everywhere: that aggression is effective, that might makes right, and that democracies lack the resolve for prolonged resistance. China's leaders are betting on that retreat. Wang Yi's comments were not an error in diplomacy. They were an intentional signal. It is now the responsibility of all of us, from Brussels to the Blue Pacific, to respond with unity, determination, and an unshakeable commitment to the values that have preserved peace for generations. If we fail to meet this moment, the next confrontation may arrive much closer to home.
