"Obsessive cooperation": how the US is trying to turn the world against Russia and China

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, during his speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue international conference in Singapore, said that the United States does not pursue a policy of dividing the world into warring blocs.

“I would like to make it clear: we do not seek confrontation or conflict.

We also do not seek the start of a new Cold War, NATO in Asia, or the division of the region into militant blocs,” Austin said.

The US authorities deny responsibility for international crises and armed conflicts in the world, political scientists remind.

Formally, Washington declares a course aimed at preventing the division of the world into hostile blocs and resolving all differences through diplomacy.

So, speaking shortly before the start of a new round of the Ukrainian crisis at the 76th session of the UN General Assembly, President of the United States Joe Biden noted that Washington does not seek "a new cold war or a world divided into blocks."

However, despite such statements, the US held a so-called pro-democracy summit in December without inviting Russia, China, and most of the Middle East to discuss pressing international issues.

Along with this, Washington is intensively strengthening NATO's military infrastructure and increasing arms supplies to Ukraine. 

Moscow emphasizes that the United States mainly defends the world order, which is based on American hegemony in key areas of geopolitics.

At the end of May, at a reception on the occasion of Africa Day, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that a narrow group of Western states led by the United States did not leave attempts to impose on the international community the concept of a world order based on their rules.

“Under this slogan, frankly, without any hesitation, a unipolar model of the world order is being promoted, which implies the division of countries into “exceptional” and all the rest who are obliged to obey the requirements of the “club of the elite,” Lavrov said.

In an interview with RT, Sergey Ermakov, a leading expert at the RISS Research Coordination Center, noted that Washington's current policy is dictated by the desire to preserve the world order that emerged after the collapse of the USSR with the only pole of power in the face of the United States and its allies.

“The Americans slyly and hypocritically say that they are champions of the free world and democracy, but in fact the recipient of all benefits in their system of international relations should be the United States itself and a narrow circle of states close to it.

It is they who should develop the rules by which everyone else will live,” says Ermakov.

"Strategic Plan"

It is worth noting that Lloyd Austin, in his speech in Singapore, paid considerable attention to the situation in the Indo-Pacific region (in Russia, these territories are most often referred to as the Asia-Pacific region, APR. -

).

The head of the Ministry of Defense said that Washington is striving to ensure that this region is free from "aggression and oppression."

At the same time, Austin called the Asia-Pacific region a "priority theater of operations" for the Pentagon.

• International exercises in the Asia-Pacific region with the participation of the US Navy

• © Navy Lt.

  jg Alexandra Green/DOD

“Today, the Indo-Pacific region is central to the US “grand strategy” … The American public position is based on the reality that no other region will have more influence in determining the trajectory of the 21st century than this one.

That is why the Indo-Pacific region plays a key role for us strategically," the defense minister explained.

In his opinion, China's policy has a negative impact on the Asia-Pacific region.

Beijing's actions, according to Austin, are capable of "undermining the security, stability and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region."

In particular, the head of the US military department accused China of an "aggressive approach" to territorial problems, expressing dissatisfaction with Beijing's course towards Taiwan, its maritime economic activities and the creation of military facilities on artificial islands in the Asia-Pacific region.

Nevertheless, today Washington does not interrupt the dialogue with China.

On June 10, on the sidelines of a conference in Singapore, Austin met with the Minister of Defense of the People's Republic of China, Colonel General Wei Fenghe, at which the situation around Taiwan, North Korea and Ukraine was discussed.

Austin told his Chinese colleague that the Pentagon opposes material support for Russia from Beijing and unilateral changes in the status quo in the Asia-Pacific region.

He also expressed concern about the "aggressive" behavior of the People's Liberation Army of China (PLA), including in the Taiwan Strait.

In turn, Wei Fenghe urged the head of the Pentagon not to try to interfere in the internal affairs of his country and drew attention to the inadmissibility of attacks against Beijing.

Also, the Chinese Defense Minister told Austin that the next supply of weapons to Taipei causes serious damage to the sovereignty of the PRC and its security interests.

Wei Fenghe assured that US attempts to contain Beijing with the help of the Taiwan crisis will not succeed.

In a RT commentary, Alexei Podberyozkin, director of the MGIMO Center for Military-Political Studies, noted that the US policy towards China is in many ways similar to Washington's course towards Moscow.

Its essence lies in international isolation and provoking armed conflicts with neighbors.

“Lloyd was not disingenuous when he said that the Asia-Pacific region is the main potential theater of war for the United States.

For the Americans, it is important to isolate China as much as possible and escalate tension around it, up to the use of allies and partners in the region in an armed conflict against China, ”says Podberyozkin.

• Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin at a meeting with the leadership of the PLA

• © Chad J. McNeeley/DOD

A similar point of view in a conversation with RT was expressed by Pavel Feldman, Deputy Director of the Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts of the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia.

“The Americans are interested in the fact that the tension in relations between the neighbors in the Asia-Pacific region is constantly growing.

They are doing their best to prevent the developing countries of the region from uniting around the PRC and the Russian Federation,” Feldman stressed.

According to analysts, in order to realize this plan, Washington expects to improve the system of blocs under its control.

These include Quad (an association of the US, Japan, Australia and India), AUKUS (a defense alliance of the US, Australia and the UK), as well as the Pacific Deterrence Initiative, a recently launched Washington cooperation program with the Asia-Pacific countries aimed at preventing "aggression" against the United States, its allies and partners.

Lloyd Austin spoke about these formats in a positive way at a conference in Singapore.

So, according to him, the US budget for fiscal year 2023 provides for very solid funding for the Pacific Containment Initiative at $6.1 billion.

The US Department of Defense does not hide the fact that they are paying great attention to policy in the Asia-Pacific region, despite the significant amounts of resources that are now being directed to military assistance to the Kyiv regime.

In addition, Washington draws certain parallels between Beijing's "excessive claims" and Moscow's actions in the Ukrainian direction.

“The United States has long and openly called the PRC and the Russian Federation adversaries.

Now Washington is trying to prepare its allies for military opposition to China.

A sharp aggravation of the situation can result, for example, in the deployment of medium-range and shorter-range missiles.

However, as far as I understand, the countries of the Asia-Pacific region are aware of the consequences of such a step and oppose it, ”says Podberezkin.

At the same time, according to the expert, in a number of areas, the countries of the Asia-Pacific region still yield to pressure from Washington and adopt the rules of "obsessive cooperation" with the Americans.

"The New Eight"

According to analysts interviewed by RT, the United States is trying to pursue a “comprehensive containment strategy” with respect to Moscow and Beijing, which is expressed in tightening sanctions, strengthening anti-Russian and anti-Chinese coalitions, as well as provoking hybrid wars against these states.

However, Washington's policy also has the opposite effect, when countries experiencing military and political pressure from the United States become more united.

This was stated in his Telegram channel by State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin.

“The United States, with its own hands, created the conditions for countries wishing to build an equal dialogue and mutually beneficial relations to actually form a“ new G8 ”with Russia,” he wrote.

• BRICS Leaders Conference 2021

• AP

• © Press Information Bureau

In addition to the Russian Federation, Volodin included the PRC, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Brazil, Turkey and Iran to the "new eight".

According to his estimates, they have already outperformed the “old group” — G7 members (USA, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Canada, Japan) in terms of GDP at PPP.

“Sagging in economic terms, the United States continues to create tension in the world.

They do everything to solve their problems at the expense of others.

And this will inevitably lead to the loss of hegemony in the world, ”Volodin noted.

According to Pavel Feldman, the assessment of the speaker of the State Duma reflects an objective reality: countries that are moving away from the US-centric world have great potential for development.

“Of course, the states that Volodin is talking about lack cohesion and mutual coordination of actions.

But in the future, the potential G8 can become a viable integration association focused not only on creating a free Eurasian market, but also on collective self-defense,” Feldman admitted.