Advertisement
US-China relations
ChinaDiplomacy

US-China relations: Mark Esper urges allies to help counter China in Indo-Pacific

  • Defence secretary says the region has become ‘the epicentre of great power competition’ with Beijing
  • He warns the PLA’s bid to become a world-class military will ‘undoubtedly embolden’ its actions in the East China and South China seas

Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
Mark Esper said the US defence department was increasingly focused on China as a threat in the Indo-Pacific and globally. Photo: AP
Sarah Zheng

US Secretary of Defence Mark Esper has called on countries to work with the United States to more effectively counter China in the Indo-Pacific, saying the region has become an epicentre of power competition with Beijing.

In an address on Wednesday in Hawaii, Esper said the US defence department was increasingly focused on China as a threat in the Indo-Pacific and globally, in response to what he described as Beijing’s undermining of the international order and aggressive modernisation of its People’s Liberation Army. The US strategy would include strengthening alliances, bolstering US military capabilities and expanding a network of like-minded partners, he said.

“The Indo-Pacific is the epicentre of a great power competition with China,” he said. “We’re not going to cede this region – an inch of ground, if you will – to another country, any other country that thinks their form of government, their views on human rights, their views on sovereignty, their views on freedom of the press, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, all those things, that somehow that’s better than what many of us share.”

04:12

Are Xi Jinping’s China and Donald Trump’s US destined for armed conflict?

Are Xi Jinping’s China and Donald Trump’s US destined for armed conflict?
His remarks reflect the rapid deterioration of relations between China and the US, as Beijing has more aggressively expanded its global influence while Washington has pushed back more strongly against Beijing on trade, technology, human rights, the coronavirus pandemic, and its sprawling claims in the South China Sea. Esper is scheduled this week to fly to Guam and the tiny Pacific nation of Palau, one of the 15 remaining diplomatic allies for democratic Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own.
Advertisement
US Secretary of Defence Mark Esper this week plans to fly to tiny Palau, which no Pentagon chief has ever visited. Photo: AP
US Secretary of Defence Mark Esper this week plans to fly to tiny Palau, which no Pentagon chief has ever visited. Photo: AP
On Wednesday, he also warned that the PLA’s bid to become a world-class military would “undoubtedly embolden” its actions in the East China Sea and the resource-rich South China Sea, where China has overlapping claims with several others in the region.
Advertisement
“We see Southeast Asia, particularly in the South China Sea area, is where China seems to be flexing its muscles the most and conducting some of its worst behaviour,” he said. “Our robust network of allies and partners remains the enduring asymmetric advantage we have over near-peer rivals, namely China, that attempt to undermine and subvert the rules-based order to advance their own interests, often at the expense of others.”
Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x