China and Russia delivered an ostensible military message to the United States on Tuesday, as President Joe Biden met in Japan with anti-Beijing allies in the Indo-Pacific region.
At least two Russian Tu-95s and two Chinese H-6Ks, both nuclear-capable bombers, were escorted by two Russian fighter jets on a few-hour flight over the Sea of ​​Japan, passing through the Air Defense Identification Zone of another. American ally South Korea, which was visited by Biden over the weekend.
The zone is not airspace, but an area where planes identify themselves to avoid misunderstandings of intentions. The group headed from there to near the Japanese borders. Both Seoul and Tokyo sent fighter jets to follow the movement, but there were no incidents.
It was the first joint Moscow-Beijing patrol since Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine on February 24, and an eloquent sign that the two countries maintain their military partnership despite criticism of the Kremlin. Beijing calls for peace talks, but does not criticize the ally.
The day before, Biden had again made an association between the Ukrainian crisis and the situation in Taiwan, the rebellious island that Beijing claims for its own. The American once again said that he would militarily defend Taipei in the event of a Chinese invasion, generating noise in his government, as the US officially maintains an ambiguous policy of recognizing China’s demand.
China harshly criticized the speech, saying that the American “played with fire”. With the uproar, this Tuesday he reaffirmed his policy alongside the premiers of Japan, Australia and India, who form with him the Quad group (a contraction for Quadrilateral Security Dialogue).
“Politics hasn’t changed at all. I said that when I spoke yesterday”, tried to patch up the American, known for his “sincericides” sometimes seen as a tactic to intimidate rivals, sometimes as simple gaffes.
Biden’s host, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, had supported the American’s position. This is significant: Tokyo has not engaged in military action since Japan was obliterated in World War II, which ended in 1945. In recent years, warmongering followed by governments has changed that, and Kishida is following suit.
The group’s newcomer, new Australian premier Anthony Albanese, has maintained his defiant tone before Beijing, with whom he is in a tariff war. He said he was concerned about the issue and would “properly respond” to the congratulatory message sent by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.
Narendra Modi, the Indian leader who has been questioned in the West for not directly criticizing Putin’s wartime ally, saw his position respected in the Quad — a clear signpost of American strategic priorities when it comes to Asia.
The meeting’s final communiqué did not mention the word Russia, only talking about how members “discussed their respective responses to the conflict in Ukraine and the ongoing humanitarian tragedy.” Diplomatically, it is many degrees below Western rhetoric against the Kremlin.
Outside the confines of this field, Biden returned to the usual criticisms. “The Russian attack on Ukraine only highlights the importance of fundamental principles of international order, territorial integrity and sovereignty,” she said. He was followed by Kishida: “We can’t let something similar happen in the Indo-Pacific,” a repeat of the Quad’s admonition to China at the start of the war.
The cases, however, are quite different. Ukraine has been a sovereign country since 1991, and Taiwan is only recognized as such by 14 states, with the United Nations deeming that only communist China can be called China.
The complexity of the Taiwanese case stems from the support that the US and, to a lesser extent, the European Union give its government — without, however, recognizing independence due to the strong commercial ties they have with Beijing. That hasn’t stopped the US, under Donald Trump and now Biden, from accelerating Cold War 2.0 with the Chinese, given the perception of strategic rivalry between the world’s two largest economies.
The moment of internal questioning of leader Xi Jinping’s policies also explains why the US expands two instruments against Beijing: one military, in the form of the Quad and the Aukus pact (with Australia and the United Kingdom), and another economic, in the form of the partnership. trade from 13 Indo-Pacific countries.
Still, there are basic differences in opponents as well. Russia has a nuclear arsenal similar to the American one, and much larger than the Chinese one, but it is a country ten times smaller economically than China. Biden’s threats to emulate the sanctions regime against the Kremlin if Beijing invades Taiwan, made on Monday (23), collide with the interconnection between the two economies.
