April 6, 2021

U.S. Officials' Trips to Asia Offers Preview of Biden Administration's Korea Policy

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a joint press conference with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and South Korean Defence Minister Suh Wook after their meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul on March 18, 2021. (Photo by LEE JIN-MAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Heritage Senior Research Fellow Bruce Klingner writes that although the Biden administration’s policy toward North Korea has not yet been released, several aspects of it became clear from the first overseas trip by Biden Cabinet officials to Asia.

Senior U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Tony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, met with government officials in Tokyo and Seoul on March 16-18, signaling the importance of the region to U.S. strategic objectives.

U.S. officials emphasized the Biden administration priorities for the Indo-Pacific region, addressing regional challenges through multilateralism, affirming the importance of America’s allies, remaining committed to North Korean denuclearization, and criticizing North Korean human rights.

A dominant message throughout the trip was the importance of alliances to address the North Korean threat. Negotiations to reach an agreement of host-nation support negotiations with Seoul and Tokyo emphasized a return to traditional U.S. views of alliances as based on common values and Washington’s unwavering commitment to defend its Asian allies. Details of the agreements have not yet been formally disclosed but will remove a major source of tension within the alliances.

The Biden administration repeated its commitment to engage with North Korea, and confirmed that it had unsuccessfully attempted several times to initiate dialogue with North Korea through several channels.

During the secretaries’ trip, senior officials of the North Korean Kim Jong Un regime released statements harshly criticizing the United States and South Korea, and seemingly shut the door on dialogue and negotiations. Despite the rhetoric against engagement, Pyongyang may eventually agree to return to negotiations, either before or after yet another provocative violation of U.N. resolutions.

The Biden administration should publicly affirm its willingness to engage in talks while emphasizing that it is North Korea, not the United States, which has been the impediment to a diplomatic resolution. Privately, the Biden administration should signal to North Korea that any provocation would undermine dialogue, lead to a stronger administration policy on North Korea, and trigger an international response.

Moving forward, the basis for negotiations should be the denuclearization requirements of the U.N. resolutions as well as North Korea’s previous promises to abandon its nuclear arsenal and programs. In the meantime, Washington must maintain a policy of strong military deterrence and continue to coordinate policies with Seoul and Tokyo.

Blinken’s and Austin’s trip made important steps in doing so.

The Philippines: Economic Statecraft and Security Interests Can Save a Critical Alliance

Heritage Senior Fellow for Naval Warfare and Advanced Technology Brent Sadler writes that elections have significant strategic impacts on the bilateral U.S.–Philippines relationship, and that will undoubtedly be true of the next Philippines presidential election slated for May 2022, which will take place against the backdrop of increased regional tensions with China.

The last presidential election in the Philippines in 2016 ushered in sharp reversals on several significant fronts. Just prior to it, the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) to strengthen the bilateral military alliance with the United States was delivering results and historic arbitration against China’s South China Sea maritime claims was concluding. However, the new Filipino president, Rodrigo Duterte, quickly moved to stall EDCA and set aside a favorable July 2016 arbitral decision in the hopes of closer relations with China.

This is not the first time, nor the last, that politics complicates what should be shared strategic interests between the two countries: For the U.S., it is upholding the maritime rules-based order, while for the Philippines it is security from maritime harassment and encroachment on its claims.

With a year to go before the next Philippine president is elected, there is an opportunity for the current Administration and the Department of Defense to foster this strategically important bilateral relationship. On February 5, 2021, the Department of Defense announced a global posture review that will assess the disposition of forces with those of allies to best affect defense strategy. The Philippines will undoubtedly figure prominently given its strategic location. President Joe Biden has stipulated that defense and diplomacy go hand in hand, but the U.S. strategic posture toward the Philippines should also include economics in order to be politically sustainable while addressing inevitable host nation “base politics.”

Base politics is a nexus of local and national politics in foreign nations regarding U.S. military bases. It involves national politics, security interests, local community relations, and economic ties. As such, it does not fit neatly into conventional constructs of international relations or defense strategy, but it is a reality that affects overseas military forces.

The Philippines’s geographical situation makes it is a uniquely important ally in the competition playing out with China. Unlike 1992, when the United States was the world’s undisputed power, today’s contest requires strong alliances more than ever. Because of the history and deep cultural ties that the United States shares with the Philippines, an alliance between them is natural in this prolonged competition. A sustained and comprehensive economic, military, and diplomatic approach is needed to steady and enhance this key alliance as another momentous election approaches.

April 16, 2021 @ 10:00 am EDT - VIRTUAL EVENT: U.S.-Taiwan Partnership in the Pacific Islands

The Pacific Islands are an important area of cooperation for the United States and Taiwan, as both have major interests at stake in the region.

For the U.S., the Pacific Islands are critical to the Indo-Pacific strategy and its status as a resident power in the Western Pacific. Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa are all part of the United States. Furthermore, the U.S. has maintained close political, economic and especially security relationships with Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Palau under the Compacts of Free Association.

The Pacific Islands are indispensable to Taiwan’s political status. Taiwan and China and continue to compete over diplomatic support, with the Pacific Islands being a hotly contested battleground. Currently, four Pacific Island nations have diplomatic relations with Taiwan.

For years, The Heritage Foundation has not only called for increased cooperation between the U.S. and Taiwan, but also U.S. support for Pacific Island nations. Both of these objectives serve to counter China’s efforts to push the U.S. out of the region. Join us for a discussion with Sandra Oudkirk, Deputy Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of State, and Chung-Kwang Tien, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of China (Taiwan) on these important strategic issues and the importance of cooperation for the U.S., Taiwan, and our partners in the Pacific.