US firms up Japan and South Korea security ties to counter China following balloon saga

Diplomatic talks boosting trilateral cooperation meant to ‘push back’ on PRC behaviour that challenges ‘rules-based regional and international order’
All eyes now focused on how Sino-US relations might turn after American military took down three more airborne objects in three-day period

US-China relations

Orange Wangin Washington

Published: 8:15am, 14 Feb 2023

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The US is doubling down on aligning with Japan and South Korea to counter China, the Biden administration made clear on Monday, amid escalating tensions between Washington and Beijing following the balloon saga.

Senior diplomats from the three countries met in Washington on Monday to discuss plans to enhance their security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region and the world.

The trilateral talks touched on the challenges posed by Beijing and the need to respond with unity at home and abroad, according to US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman.

“We reiterated our core message,” Sherman said on Monday of the meeting with her Japanese and South Korean counterparts.

“We will remain aligned with the ROK, Japan, other allies and partners worldwide to push back on the PRC’s behaviour that challenges the rules-based regional and international order,” she added, referring to the official names of South Korea and China by their initials.

“We will continue to counter the PRC’s destabilising activities in the South and East China seas. We will keep working for maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.”

Sherman’s remarks came as strained ties across the Pacific have worsened in the past two weeks over a Chinese balloon detected above American skies and the ensuing postponement of a planned trip to Beijing by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken intended to “build a floor” under the fraught bilateral relationship.

All eyes are now focused on how Sino-US relations might turn after the American military took down three more airborne objects in a three-day period: over Alaska on Friday, northern Canada on Saturday and Michigan on Sunday.

As tensions simmer over the incidents, US President Joe Biden has insisted that the bilateral relationship has not been significantly damaged.

Yet Biden administration officials on Monday said no meeting between Blinken and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi had been set, following a report that the top US diplomat had been considering a discussion with Yi at a conference in Munich later this week. While in Germany, Beijing’s top envoy is expected to lay the groundwork for a visit to Russia by Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the United Nations, called on Beijing to “be honest” about what the balloon that the US military shot down on February 4 was doing.

Blinken “was almost on his way … to China to have discussions with the Chinese when this balloon incident occurred”, Thomas Greenfield said on Monday in an interview with MSNBC.

“We certainly have to continue to engage with the Chinese, but what we want is for the Chinese to be honest about what they are doing and to cease what they’re doing.”

Thomas-Greenfield’s comments underscored the duelling narratives about the balloon. Beijing has claimed it was used for “research, mainly meteorological, purposes”, and Washington has contended it was part of a Chinese global surveillance programme.

Meanwhile, State Department officials stated that Blinken’s planned trip to Beijing earlier this month was postponed rather than cancelled and would take place “at the earliest opportunity when conditions allow”.

Sherman on Monday said she had “nothing to announce today” about a potential meeting between Blinken and Yi, adding: “We are open to dialogue when it is in our interest to do so and we believe the conditions are right.”

The US diplomat also said that alongside Tokyo and Seoul, Washington would collaborate with Beijing where possible and vital to international security, such as on climate issues, global health, narcotics and non-proliferation, among other areas.

Both Japan and South Korea voiced their support on Monday for the US response to the Chinese balloon incident.

As an American ally, South Korea trusted what the US “officially stated on this issue”, said Cho Hyun-dong, South Korea’s first vice-foreign minister.

“We also expect that there will be some opportunity for high-level dialogue with China and [to] sit down together on this issue as well sometime in the future,” Cho added.

Takeo Mori, Japan’s vice-minister of foreign affairs, stated he “explained at the meeting today that Japan supports the position of the US”.

“We will keep in touch and we look forward to receiving more information about the balloon issues,” he said.

Additional reporting by Robert Delaney in Washington and Mark Magnier in New York