Instead of reinforcing the message that America's allies in Asia can rely on Washington, President Joe Biden sent a counter-message by withdrawing from visiting two vital stations there at the last minute.
Writing in the Washington Post, he described this as a fatal short-sighted mistake that Beijing will surely exploit as it draws closer to America's allies and partners in Asia.
Shortly after arriving in Tokyo for the Group of Seven summit on Thursday, US national security spokesman John Kirby again announced Washington's approach to Asian countries that are concerned about China's expansionist policies in the Indo-Pacific region, but question US commitments, Rogin said. He said coordinating competition with China and responding to China's military and economic aggression would be "key to the agenda" in Japan.
Words not supported by deeds
Kirby said Washington is not asking countries to choose between America and China, but will show in practice that it is a reliable and stable partner in this part of the world, and it is also giving people alternatives to coercion and intimidation from the Chinese.
Rogin commented that this approach makes perfect sense, but unfortunately it cannot be understood with Biden's decision last Wednesday to cancel his long-planned visits to Australia and Papua New Guinea, as the cancellation in Australia was seen as contempt and political dysfunction that causes real damage to U.S. foreign policy and gives Beijing an easy victory.
"The harm of canceling his visit to Papua New Guinea is quite clear: He was scheduled to meet with members of the Pacific Islands Forum, a 10-nation union that coordinates Pacific economic and security policy, and this was the first time a U.S. president had visited Papua New Guinea, a strategically important country that China deeply cares about."
Unconvincing justification
He added that the justification for cancellation, which is the need to return to America to pursue debt ceiling negotiations, is unconvincing, and that President Biden will be better off politically when he demonstrates his ability to assert U.S. leadership in Asia and respond to China, while also remaining engaged in debt talks.
There is a long list of occasions in which U.S. presidents canceled their visits to Asia due to domestic politics, as President George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama (twice) withdrew from diplomatic trips to Asia due to political "emergency," and President Donald Trump poorly planned to skip a major summit in the Philippines in 2017 to return home early for no reason at all, only to later acquiesce and go to the summit site, but he leaves. After that because the meeting started late.
Chinese aid, US ignoring
In 2018, Rogin says he accompanied then-U.S. Vice President Mike Pence to Papua New Guinea to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, saw Chinese President Xi Jinping attend a week before the summit began on a lengthy state visit, to celebrate the opening of a new highway in the capital, Port Moresby, leading to the new parliament building, both of which (the road and the seat of parliament) were built by China as a gift, and met with several Pacific Islands Forum leaders.
Since then, Beijing has expanded its military, diplomatic and economic ties with Pacific island nations, taking advantage of U.S. disregard for those countries, he said.