The US has no plans to create an analogue of NATO in Asia, and Washington's actions in the Asia-Pacific region (APR) are aimed only at strengthening it.

The head of the Pentagon, Lloyd Austin, said this at a forum organized by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Fund. 

“No, we are not seeking to create an Asian version of NATO or to assemble an anti-Chinese coalition ... On the contrary, we are working to advance the international system ... And we are strengthening our unparalleled network of allies and partners committed to peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region (American name of the APR. -

RT

), ”Austin said.

At the same time, he said that the United States does not intend to put the APR countries before a choice which side to prefer: Washington or Beijing, and also to divide the world into blocs.

At the same time, according to the head of the Pentagon, he has already visited a number of countries: Japan, South Korea, India, Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, and all of them allegedly call on the United States to continue playing a "stabilizing role" in the region.

In this regard, Austin stressed, Washington intends to continue to conduct joint military exercises, expand research work with partners and allies and strengthen the security architecture of the APR.

To this end, the United States intends to use various platforms: the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the military-technological associations QUAD (includes the United States, India, Australia and Japan) and AUKUS (the alliance of the United States, Australia and Great Britain), the Five Eyes intelligence alliance ( includes the USA, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Great Britain) and the strategic "triangle" USA - Japan - South Korea.

  • Pentagon Chief Lloyd Austin

  • globallookpress.com

  • © Ssgt.

    Brittany Chase / Dod

At the same time, the United States considers China a "defining challenge" for itself, since the PRC is purposefully building up its military power in order to become a full-fledged competitor of the United States not only in Asia, but throughout the world, Austin said.

According to the head of the American defense department, Beijing is unhappy with the current world order and wants to "deprive America of its role as a global leader."

And in order to have an advantage over China, Washington is building up its military potential, the head of the Pentagon explained.

At the same time, he hastened to assure the participants of the forum that all this is aimed at containing, and not "changing the status quo" in the region.

Struggle for the region

Recall that the priority of the Asia-Pacific region for the United States in the context of containing China was announced in the American Ministry of Defense at the end of November.

This conclusion was made following the results of the "Global Posture Review" of the United States, which since February 2021 was conducted under the leadership of the head of the Pentagon Lloyd Austin.

In this regard, Washington announced its intention to expand its presence in the APR, including a military one.

“These initiatives include striving to expand regional access to military partnerships, improving infrastructure in Australia and the Pacific Islands, and planning for a rotational deployment of aviation in Australia,” the November 29 briefing and said.

O.

Assistant Deputy Chief of the Pentagon for Political Affairs Mara Karlin.

In particular, the United States intends to deploy additional fighters and bombers in Australia on a rotational basis, intensify training of local ground forces and deepen cooperation in the field of logistics.

Earlier, the American diplomat Nicholas Burns, whose candidacy President Joe Biden nominated for the post of US ambassador to the PRC, also spoke about the need to act against the PRC from a position of strength.

"We will confront the PRC when necessary, including when Beijing takes measures that run counter to American values ​​and interests, threaten the security of the United States or our allies and partners, and undermine the rules-based world order." - said Burns at a hearing in the Senate.

  • Chinese military

  • Reuters

  • © Naohiko Hatta

Beijing denies such accusations and claims that the US is fanning the hysteria around the "Chinese military threat", attributing the PRC's intention to establish military bases in other countries and condemning its actions in the nuclear field.

"In fact, the biggest source of danger for the whole world is the United States itself," TASS quoted Wang Wenbin, the spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, as saying.

In addition, as stressed in the Chinese Foreign Ministry, it is Washington that is behaving provocatively towards Beijing on the Taiwan issue.

“China will firmly defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The United States must correct its mistakes, stop playing with fire, and take actions that will contribute to maintaining regional peace and stability, ”Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said during a briefing.

Word screen

Experts interviewed by RT note that the current statements of the United States about their "peaceful" role in the Asia-Pacific region are more made to divert the eyes.

“This standard fits into the strategic culture of the United States, when they disguise their plans with peace-loving rhetoric.

In fact, this is an approach of double standards: to say one thing, while taking actions aimed at strengthening its influence in the region, strengthening its position and achieving military superiority.

This is exactly what we are observing, ”Sergei Ermakov, an expert at the RISS Research Coordination Center, explained in a conversation with RT.

He also expressed the opinion that the creation of an Asian analogue of NATO is not foreseen, not because the United States does not want it, but because the APR countries will not accept this idea, since they will not want to sacrifice part of their sovereignty for the sake of creating such a cumbersome military system.

“Now there is a different mechanism for strategic alliances - the creation of flexible alliances based on the network principle.

A vivid example of this is AUKUS.

After all, the same Australia, having become a member of this union, actually pledged to get on the tracks of the fight against Chinese expansion, ”the expert noted.

According to Ermakov, AUKUS in this context has a more pronounced anti-Chinese orientation than the same QUAD, since the participants in this association in India and Japan are not ready to go over to an open struggle with China, since they want to maintain a balance between economic interests, political well-being and military strengthening. ...

However, as noted by the director of the Franklin Roosevelt Foundation for the Study of the United States at Moscow State University, Yuri Rogulev, the United States, despite all its assurances, is still interested in a more definite position of its regional partners in relation to China, since the stakes in the APR are too high.

“The United States views the Pacific region, in which Washington has deployed quite a few strategic facilities, as one of the possible threats.

In addition, the Pacific Ocean plays a huge role in trade and economic operations and transportation.

And now China occupies a fairly strong position there, making unwanted competition for the United States, "the analyst explained in a commentary on RT.

  • Flags of the USA and the People's Republic of China

  • © REUTERS / Tingshu Wang

At the same time, he recalled that, despite Washington's opposition to Beijing, both countries have many common interests.

“After all, the same China is leading a rather powerful expansion in investments in the United States, including investments in electronic products, phones, computers, communication systems and 5G, they tried to develop there.

So, as trading partners, they are economically dependent on each other, ”explained Rogulyov.

For this reason, Sergei Ermakov believes, the United States should weaken its anti-Chinese rhetoric so as not to aggravate the situation in the Asia-Pacific region.

“After all, the current situation is fraught with increasing uncertainty and the military factor in the region.

Accordingly, the arms race will accelerate, which will lead to increased confrontation in the APR.

And this does not bode well, ”concluded the expert.