Biden revives strategic pivot to Asia to contain China’s influence

by ANKASAM Ekip

New US-led economic grouping for Asia-Pacific comes 5 years after Trump abandoned Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement

US President Joe Biden’s announcement of forming a new economic grouping for the Asia-Pacific, including 13 inaugural members, has revived Barack Obama’s “pivot” or strategy of rebalancing Asia.

The decision has come five years after Donald Trump had withdrawn from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement soon after assuming office.

The new grouping accounts for about 40% of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP).

The 13 initial members of the group, the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), are the US, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, New Zealand, and Brunei, the Biden administration said Monday.

The revival of the economic grouping in Asia is perceived as the revival of the strategy of rebalancing Asia, of which India and Japan at two ends are seen as anchors.

Though IPEF is an economic alliance, like the earlier TPP, the US has left nothing to the imagination that this is meant to counter China’s rise through enhanced political and economic cooperation with regional allies.

US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo mentioned China in her remarks, saying the launch of the group marks “an important turning point in restoring US economic leadership in the region, and presenting Indo-Pacific countries an alternative to China’s approach to the critical issues.”

The TPP was a 12-nation trade arrangement that had come up after seven years of negotiations aiming to liberalize the flow of goods amongst the Pacific Rim countries and also to counter China’s rise in the region.

It was seen as the signature achievement of Barack Obama’s presidency, cutting tariffs on thousands of items and attempting to unify copyright laws across its members.

Speaking at the launch event in Tokyo, Biden said that the future of the 21st Century economy will be written in the Indo-Pacific.

“We’re writing the new rules,” he said.

– New alliance has 4 pillars

According to US officials, the IPEF will focus on deepening cooperation between the US and its Asian partners along four pillars: supply chain resiliency, clean energy and decarbonization, tax and anti-corruption, and trade.

The document circulated at the Tokyo meeting mentioned that the IPEF will focus on four policy pillars that include the connected economy, resilient economy, clean economy, and fair economy.

India, which had earlier withdrawn from the 15-member Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) — a free trade agreement of Asia-Pacific nations due to fears over the impact of free trade on its farmers and businesses — agreed to join the new US-led framework.
The RCEP, which includes China, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Australia, and the 10 ASEAN member states – entered into force at the start of 2022.

Raimondo said the countries in the region that have joined the IPEF will have the advantage of getting businesses from American companies as many of them are looking to relocate from China.

Besides reviving the trade alliance that was buried by his predecessor Trump, Biden’s Tokyo visit led to discussions on economic and security issues. He pledged $50 billion in developing infrastructure to counter China’s rising influence in the region.

He also launched a maritime initiative at the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, known as the Quad meeting, with India, Japan, and Australia.

The informal alliance set up to respond to China’s economic and military might also discuss climate change, technology, COVID-19, as well as the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The new maritime surveillance initiative – the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) – will work with regional partners to respond to humanitarian and natural disasters and combat illegal fishing.

-AA

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