The US has imposed a range of sanctions on Russia, including curbs to its sovereign debt market, to punish it for allegedly interfering in last year’s U.S. election, cyber hacking, bullying Ukraine and other alleged malign actions. Russia denies the allegations, and considers the sanctions hostile steps.
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The US is said to be pushing for Japan to sign off on a joint statement of support for Taiwan, to be issued after the visit of Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to the White House on Friday, 16 April 2021. It would be the first time that Taiwan is mentioned in a joint US-Japan statement since 1969.
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This article explores the reasons why South Korea has been unwilling to join ‘the Quad’, suggesting that here the issue is not just about balancing diverging economic and security interests, but the reality that progressing South Korea’s key security priority – North Korea – requires a more accommodating approach to China.
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In ‘It’s still hard to be America’s ally’, Richard Fontaine writes about the post-Trump challenges for US allies. Biden’s welcome celebration of US alliances, he writes, raises its own set of ambiguities and contradictions which pose new dilemmas for long-term allies.
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The enormous military power of America will continue to make alliances with it attractive. But the Europeans and East Asians will strive to balance their alliances with their economic entanglement with China. America might find diplomatic support against China, but will in all likelihood find itself alone in a war with China in East Asia.
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The Biden administration’s approach to China is shaping up as a continuation of the Trump administration’s “strategic competition”. But will strategic competition with China under Biden mean a shift from the malign competition – where each country seeks to undermine rather than outperform the other – that was typical under Trump towards a more benign competition?
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It is reported that North Korea’s claim that it had launched a new type of tactical short-range ballistic missile has highlighted military advances by the nuclear-armed state and propelled it to the top of new U.S. President Joe Biden’s foreign policy agenda.
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Two-day talks between the US and China, the first under the Biden administration, concluded on 19 March 2021. The unusual exchanges between the delegations were showcased the nature of the tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
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Leaders of the United States, Japan, India and Australia have launched “a landmark partnership to further accelerate the end of the COVID-19 pandemic” in a move widely interpreted as an effort to counter China’s influence in the Asia-Pacific region.
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Commentators are divided on the nature of the Trump Administration’s legacy in the Middle East. Was it left in a parlous state, or was Trump’s parting gift to Biden a more stable region?
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President Trump left the Middle East in a parlous state. President Biden’s first steps in the region look more promising. The shift in America’s policy in the region, while subtle, is clear; and the messages it is sending will be received in Tel Aviv, Tehran, and Riyadh.
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Has an enduring predisposition to authoritarianism been activated in the US that will continue to destabilise its domestic politics? If so, the US could become an unreliable ally. Should Australia be imagining a post-alliance future?
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In the first military action authorised by US President Joe Biden, the United States carried out air strikes against facilities used by “Iranian-backed militia” in eastern Syria on Thursday, 25 February 2021 (early on Friday Middle Eastern time).
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A special edition of the annual Munich Security Conference took place on 19 February 2021, with presentations from US President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron and other speakers.
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The United States today [Monday, 8 February 2021] announced plans to reengage with the U.N. Human Rights Council. The US withdrew from the UNHRC three years ago, citing concerns about the Council’s focus on Israel. “The Biden administration has recommitted the United States to a foreign policy centered on democracy, human rights, and equality,” Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, said in a statement. “Effective use of multilateral tools is an important element of that vision.” The
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On Thursday 4 February 2021, US President Biden gave his first speech dealing with foreign policy issues at the Department of State in Washington. Amongst other things, he took a strong position on China and Russia, and called for the release of Alexei Navalny and Aung San Suu Kyi, and an end to the war in Yemen.
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China already has significant geopolitical and economic clout in Asia and beyond – especially through the Belt and Road Initiative, its massive investment program in global infrastructure, and commercial development. Economic decoupling is not in the offing; China is far too integrated into the global economy. So is there a “China strategy” that would reunite the US and its democratic partners?
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Michael Swaine suggests that “a Biden presidency will likely correct many of Trump’s most egregious mistakes in handling Beijing while still supporting the bipartisan shift that has occurred toward intensified competition with China”. The article sets out some of the policy shifts that might result, but asks will Biden go far enough?
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Based on the results of its 2020 Survey of American Public Opinion and US Foreign Policy, this Report from the Chicago Council on Global Affairs provides insight into the potential differences in US foreign policy settings depending on the outcome of the presidential election. The Report finds that there are profound differences between Democrats and Republicans on which foreign policy issues matter most today. And that they are even more sharply divided on how the United States should deal with these issues and engage the rest of the world.
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A victory for the incumbent will represent crossing a “tipping point”, beyond which “alliances may come to an end, the global economy could close, and democracy could go into rapid retreat”, Thomas Wright writes in a comprehensive analysis of the likely future foreign policy direction under either a Joe Biden or Donald Trump presidency. This is an important and informative analysis by a well-credentialled and intelligent observer of the contending camps struggling over foreign policy in the US.
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