China is threatening the sovereignty of small Pacific Islands and undermining the region’s stability, a top US military commander said yesterday, in comments likely to inflame tensions with Beijing.
US-China relations last month improved with the signing of a “phase one” trade deal that defused an 18-month row that has hit global growth, but strains remain.
US Navy Admiral Philip Davidson — commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command — said in Sydney that the US “was all in” to counter China in the Pacific, citing Beijing’s “excessive territorial claims, debt-trap diplomacy, violations of international agreements, theft of international property, military intimidation and outright corruption.”
“The Communist Party of China seeks to control the flow of trade, finance, communications, politics and the way of life in the Indo-Pacific,” he said.
China’s embassy in Australia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
China has rejected accusations of aggressive behavior and of luring small economies into debt “traps.”
China has been more active in the resource-rich Pacific in the past few years, seeking to extend influence with aid and encouraging countries away from diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
China’s increasing assertiveness in the energy-rich South China Sea, in particular, has raised US and regional concerns.
China claims most of the South China Sea, through which about US$3.4 trillion in shipping passes each year. Taiwan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Brunei also have overlapping claims to parts or all of the sea.
Davidson’s comments came at the end of a visit to old ally Australia, which included talks with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
Australia, which long enjoyed unrivalled influence in the Pacific, has in the past several years been more assertive in maintaining its standing in the region.
In 2018, it launched a A$3 billion (US$2 billion) fund to offer Pacific countries grants and cheap loans for infrastructure.
While vying for influence in the Pacific, Australia and China have also argued over Chinese activities in Australia.
Australia last year concluded that China was responsible for a cyberattack on its parliament and its three largest political parties — although it declined to publicize its findings amid concern of trade disruptions.
China denied responsibility.
China is Australia’s largest trading partner, buying more than one-third of its total exports, and sending more than 1 million tourists and students there each year.
“Beijing has showed a willingness to intervene in free markets and hurt Australian companies simply because the Australian government has exercised its sovereign right to exercise its national security,” Davidson said.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese