U.S. has problem with primacy in Asia: Foreign Affairs magazine

Xinhua
17 Jan 2023, 12:44 GMT+10

NEW YORK, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- The United States' global power has diminished over the past generation, making it harder for Washington to direct the world and maintain its self-presumed prowess in Asia, said an article published in the Foreign Affairs magazine on Monday.

"Even if U.S. primacy was once a source of regional stability, there is little basis to think it will promote harmony today," said the article.

Two of the most recent U.S. presidents -- Barack Obama and Donald Trump -- charged themselves with the task of "indefinitely propping up the sun," and President Joe Biden has picked up where both presidents left off, according to the article.

"Biden has increased the U.S. military buildup, facilitated a regional military buildup, and attempted to assemble the beginnings of an anti-Chinese containment coalition along with local Asian powers," it said.

These choices go against what the preservation of peace demands. Kneecapping China's economy, engaging in an endless arms race, aligning with regional countries to encircle Beijing, and alienating smaller countries by demanding that they choose between China and the United States might give Washington more short-term power in Asia, according to the article.

"But these are the ingredients of regional fracture and eventual war, not stability. The United States' Asia policy, then, is at an unacknowledged crossroads. Washington can support regional peace or pursue regional primacy, but it cannot do both," it added.

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