Opinion | What Joe Biden’s Congress speech revealed about US plans for Asian foreign policy

America’s abiding strategic objectives and concerns have been relatively consistent since the end of the Cold War

While China remains a top priority, expect Iran, Afghanistan, North Korea, Taiwan and the South China Sea to also feature prominently

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US President Joe Biden addresses a joint session of Congress on April 28 in the House Chamber at the US Capitol in Washington as Vice-President Kamala Harris (left) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi look on. Photo: AP

Published: 1:30am, 8 May 2021Updated: 4:36am, 8 May 2021

US President Joe Biden delivered a major speech to Congress last month, asserting: “After just 100 days, I can report to the nation: America is on the move again.” While the predominant focus was predictably on his domestic agenda and the Covid-19 pandemic, Biden’s foreign policy and security references merit review for their impact on Asian geopolitics.

Preliminary assessments about the Biden foreign policy template sought to identify elements of continuity with the Trump administration – for instance, in relation to China, Russia and trade – even while reversals in policy, such as on climate change, were also noted.

However, it is worth noting that the abiding strategic objectives and concerns of a major power are relatively consistent. It is the means adopted to advance national interests that is mediated by the democratic electoral dynamic.

China has figured visibly in the US strategic calculus since the end of the Cold War, and hence the continuity from Bill Clinton to Donald Trump to Biden is a familiar furrow. Biden outlined his China approach soon after assuming office in January, and competition with Beijing has been reiterated periodically, including at the virtual Quad summit in March.

One can note the nuanced changes unfolding on Biden’s watch in the complex Asian geopolitical canvas that his predecessor impulsively pursued in North Korea and dramatically jettisoned in Iran. The most immediate is the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan that has already begun and is expected to affect regional security.

The nuclear strand in Asian geopolitics is tangled and, from the US perspective, the North Korean nuclear imbroglio and the Iran deal that was carefully crafted under Barack Obama unravelled during the Trump years.

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