Nikkei Asian Review July 29, 2020 16:47 JST US-CHINA TENSIONS “US ropes Australia into coalition to curb China’s rise”. “Asia-Pacific faces growing pressure to take sides in great decoupling” by Tsuyoshi Nagasawa and Fumi Matsumoto
thegeopolitics.com Australia is further south (Not Shown).
America looking for stakeholders in the Asia-Pacific is starting with Australia in forming a coalition to oppose “China’s expansionist moves in the region.”. Australia’s “foreign and defense ministers” met with American counterparts in Washington DC this week. Many issues were discussed including “cooperation in the South China Sea, cyber security, next-generation 5G mobile networks, COVID-19 and supply-chain diversification.”
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said that “Beijing’s claims in the South China Sea were ‘completely unlawful’.” Australia in a letter to the UN called on “all claimants in the South China Sea, including China, to clarify their maritime claims and resolve their differences peacefully, in accordance with international law.” Australia is remaining diplomatic in wanting to avoid the appearance of taking sides stating “’we have no intention of injuring’ the relationship with China.”
“The U.S., meanwhile, is busy attempting to build a consensus against China among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations”. As these countries think about aligning with America they knowingly would risk at least economic retaliation from China. For some of these countries trade with China accounts for upwards of 25% of their exports. Those countries traditionally friendly with China are not expected to deviate.