China is Overplaying its Hand in the Pacific Islands

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi leaves after a joint press conference with Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama in Fiji's capital city Suva. (Getty Images)

Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s recent visit to the Pacific demonstrates how China is shedding its previous patient approach and openly working to undermine other great powers by establishing a military stronghold in the region. But John Lee argues in the Australian Financial Review that Chinese impatience and arrogance are evidence Beijing is overplaying its hand and these small nations risk becoming pariahs in the Pacific Island community if they accept Chinese help.

Blinken's Indo-Pacific Blueprint

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks on China policy at George Washington University on May 26, 2022 in Washington, D.C. (Getty Images)

Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s speech last week outlining the Biden administration’s China policy missed an opportunity to offer an attractive trade package to compete with China, writes Walter Russell Mead in The Wall Street Journal. With trade as the linchpin of U.S.-Asian relations, America’s Pacific partners will note the lack of a meaningful American trade agenda, such as an American return to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, reduced tariffs, and greater Asian access to American markets. China is a formidable competitor, and the absence of an American trade agenda undercuts Washington’s diplomacy in the region.

🎙Evaluating Biden's Indo-Pacific Strategy Amidst Coming Conflicts with China

China will use all means necessary to gain and maintain regional power, but what is on the table for the U.S. response? Counterbalance host Marshall Kosloff is joined by Senior Fellow and Director of Hudson’s new China Center, Miles Yu, and Distinguished Fellow, Ken Weinstein to react to the Biden administration’s new China strategy and what it means for our relationship with the Chinese Communist Party.

The White House's Taiwan Faux Pas

U.S. President Joe Biden, Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi attend the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity in Tokyo on May 23, 2022. (Getty Images)

While most of the media focused on President Biden’s “faux pas” saying the U.S. would defend Taiwan if China were to invade, the bigger issue was excluding Taiwan from his new Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. Not bringing Taiwan into the framework isolates Taiwan’s economy in many critical ways but it is not too late for Biden to offer his support, argues Riley Walters in The Hill. The White House should immediately move ahead with a U.S.-Taiwan free trade deal and strengthen its partnership with Taiwan on semiconductors.

Virtual Event | Framing Next Generation Air Dominance Around Software for Operational Advantage

The Air Force and Navy are pursuing Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) programs to replace front-line fighters such as the F-22 and F/A-18 E/F with families of manned and unmanned systems. Join Dan Patt and Bryan Clark, former commander of U.S. Air Force Air Combat Command Mike Holmes, and Dr. Tim Grayson, Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force for a discussion of NGAD and new approaches to acquiring the next generation of military weapons systems.

BEFORE YOU GO...

Hudson's Timothy A. Walton will sit down for a conversation on challenges and opportunities facing U.S. aerial refueling efforts with Mark Gunzinger, Todd Harrison, and John “JV” Venable next Monday at 12 p.m. Be sure to register below.