US wants to ‘flip script’, isolate China with allies’ help, says Washington’s ambassador to Tokyo

Its alliance with Japan is helping the US switch to a more multinational approach to security and economic development, the US envoy to Japan said

His remarks came as a senior US admiral said China’s actions in the South China Sea were an example of it trying to gain territory through force

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Philippine, Australian, Japanese and US warships sail in a column formation during join drills in the South China Sea on Sunday. Photo: Armed Forces of the Philippines via AP

Published: 2:41pm, 10 Apr 2024

US President Joe Biden’s administration is looking to reverse China’s attempts to isolate countries in Asia including the Philippines with help from Japan and other allies in the region, according to US Ambassador to Tokyo Rahm Emanuel.

“Our strategy is to flip that script, and make the isolated party China,” Emanuel said in Washington ahead of a summit between Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

The meeting, part of the first official visit by a Japanese leader to the US in nearly a decade, comes at a critical time in the bilateral relationship. The countries are seeking to step up cooperation on security in the Indo-Pacific region as China takes an increasingly assertive stance on disputed waters in the South China Sea.

The two leaders will hold an unprecedented trilateral summit with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr on Thursday to discuss advancing three-way cooperation in strategic areas including security, emerging technologies and supply chains.

Rahm flagged the importance of the alliance with Japan in helping the US switch to a more multinational approach to security and economic development. The US has been known for a “hub and spokes” approach to security ties that didn’t require close relationships among its allies.

“This lattice structure is a fundamental shift of the United States to a more multinational approach whether it comes to military exercises, economic development, or whether it comes to diplomatic initiatives,” Emanuel added.

US Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel attends a wreath-laying ceremony by Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at Arlington National Cemetery in the US on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

Meanwhile, a senior US admiral has said that China’s actions in the South China Sea were an example of it trying to gain territorial space through force, and were destabilising the region.

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