What new moves will the United States, Japan, and South Korea take in the Indo-Pacific region when they hold the first trilateral Indo-Pacific dialogue, and frequently mention sensitive issues related to China? What is China's position on this, and how will this affect the situation in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea?
On January 5, the governments of the United States, Japan, and South Korea held the first trilateral Indo-Pacific Dialogue in Washington, D.C. Chung Byung-won, official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, Kangda, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs at the US Department of State, and Kenhiro Kawabe, director of the General Foreign Policy Bureau of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, presided over the meeting on behalf of the three parties.
After the meeting, the three countries issued a joint statement stating that they were aware of "worrying" trends in the Indo-Pacific region and opposed any unilateral attempt to change the status quo by force or coercion anywhere in the Indo-Pacific waters.
Not surprisingly, the three countries have condemned North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs, and military cooperation with Russia has been strengthened.
The statement also repeatedly mentioned sensitive China-related content, declaring that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait are indispensable for the security and prosperity of the international community. The implication is to oppose China's use of force to take over Taiwan.
In addition, the statement also mentioned the South China Sea issue, and the three countries said that they would continue to work on trilateral maritime security and law enforcement cooperation, hyping up the topic of the so-called "South China Sea arbitration".
The instability of the Indo-Pacific region is essentially a military alliance led by the United States that constantly stirs up the regional situation and provokes confrontation between major powers.
On the Korean Peninsula, the United States and the ROK recently held their first joint live-fire military exercise of the New Year, and the proximity to the border line has further stimulated the DPRK, causing the DPRK to conduct artillery drills for several days in a row, triggering tension on the peninsula.
After Yoon Suk-yeol took office, he became increasingly tough on North Korea, and the Biden administration of the United States no longer actively sought dialogue with North Korea, the two sides strengthened military cooperation, and the United States plans to deploy more strategic assets on the peninsula to deter North Korea.
Japan, on the other hand, is also breaking through the principle of exclusive defense and trying to develop long-range strike capabilities.
In the face of coercion from the United States, Japan, and South Korea, the DPRK has chosen to further strengthen its nuclear strike capability, and the Korean Peninsula issue has become more complicated.
At a regular press conference held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on January 8, spokesperson Mao Ning said that China has noted that the United States, Japan and the ROK have held relevant dialogues and issued joint documents, and expresses grave concern about the inappropriate content related to China. China firmly opposes the cobbling together of exclusive "small circles" in the name of cooperation, grossly interfering in China's internal affairs, attacking and smearing China, and inciting confrontation and confrontation. In addition, Mao Ning also emphasized China's sovereignty over Taiwan and the South China Sea.
In the Taiwan Strait region, in recent years, the United States has tried in vain to "use Taiwan to contain China" and has continuously sent all kinds of weapons and equipment to the DPP authorities who are inclined to "Taiwan independence." This includes modern fighter planes, tanks, and mine-laying systems to strengthen the DPP authorities' ability to "resist reunification by force." Not only that, but the United States itself has strengthened its military deployment around Taiwan to facilitate military intervention in an emergency. Over the years, the United States has also contacted its allies and provocatively crossed the Taiwan Strait, leading to an escalation of the situation in the Taiwan Strait.
In the South China Sea, the United States has used the South China Sea issue to try to rally neighboring countries to confront China. The Philippines has now become a "pawn" of the United States, which has restarted a number of military bases in the Philippines and expanded the US-Philippines mutual defense treaty to the South China Sea. The US military has repeatedly approached the mainland's islands and reefs in the South China Sea, and has also conducted military exercises around the South China Sea.
It is also under the influence of the United States that Japan's attempts at military expansion are swelling and increasingly turning its eyes and tentacles to the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea.
Earlier, Taro Aso, former Japanese prime minister and vice president of the Liberal Democratic Party, made a big nonsense saying that in order to prevent China from taking over Taiwan, Japan should unite with the United States and show its will to "not allow the status quo to be changed by force."
Taro Aso believes that if China recovers Taiwan, the role of the US Pacific Fleet will disappear, then the first island chain will also cease to exist, and the second island chain will also be threatened.
In addition, Japan has made no secret of its intention to provide support to the Philippines in the South China Sea.
During his visit to the Philippines in November last year, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged to provide the Philippines with coastal surveillance radars and a number of equipment to enhance maritime situational awareness, which will help the Philippines enhance its maritime surveillance capabilities and improve maritime security.
It should be pointed out that this is the first time that Japan has provided military equipment to foreign countries, and by strengthening military cooperation with the Philippines, on the one hand, it will contain China, and on the other hand, it will also expand Japan's geopolitical influence in East Asia.
Not only that, Philippine Coast Guard Commander Gawan also announced that Japan will once again provide the Philippines with five large 97-meter-class coast guard patrol vessels, which will be delivered to the Philippine Coast Guard in the near future.
Just last year, Japan sent two coast guard ships to the Philippines in an effort to strengthen the Philippine coast guard and provoke the Philippines to confront China.
The Philippine side also expressed gratitude and welcome to Japan's assistance, and Gawan said that these patrol ships will greatly enhance the combat capability and level of the Philippine coast guard, and allow the Philippines to have more say and initiative in the South China Sea. He also said that the Philippine Coast Guard will maintain close cooperation and exchanges with the Japan Coast Guard to jointly maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea.
As the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, the Asia-Pacific region is a highland of peaceful development, not a chess game for major powers, and the United States should abandon the Cold War mentality, stop creating bloc confrontation, avoid aggravating regional tensions, and do something that is truly conducive to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.