The US has lost a number of important positions in foreign policy during the Donald Trump administration. That will now change – the new US administration will step up efforts to establish democracy abroad and increase its opposition to Russia and China. US President Joe Biden said this during a speech at the State Department
“I want the world to hear the following message today: America is back. America is back. Diplomacy is back at the centre of our foreign policy”, – Biden proclaimed.
Biden said Washington faces “looming authoritarianism, including the growing ambitions of China,” its desire “to compete with the United States, and Russia’s determination to damage” American democracy.
“Increasing global challenges” – from pandemics to the climate change-induced crisis to nuclear proliferation – can “only be solved by countries working together and in concert”, – Biden stressed.
“We cannot achieve this alone”, – the president acknowledged.
Biden believes we need to start “with diplomacy rooted in America’s most cherished democratic values: defending freedom, upholding universal rights, respecting the rule of law, treating everyone with dignity”.
“This is our inexhaustible source of strength”, – Biden proclaimed. – “This is America’s enduring advantage.”
Biden went on to explain what he considers diplomacy:
“Diplomacy means standing shoulder to shoulder with our key allies and partners. We intend to restore our credibility and moral authority, which for the most part has been lost.”
In his view, the new American authorities have already begun to rebuild their international ties and restore their country’s “leadership position in the world”.
In addition, Biden advocated that the US should take the lead in international efforts to “combat the existential threat” of climate change:
“As with a pandemic, this requires global cooperation.”
Turning to the topic of relations with Russia, which has “taken aggressive action”, Biden said the US would not waver now:
“The days of the US making concessions have come to an end.”
He promised that the US would organise a broad anti-Russian coalition, making its allies and partners work against Russia.
“We will be more effective when it comes to action against Russia when we work in coalition and in coordination with other partners with similar views.”
Here he also recalled convicted blogger Alexei Navalny, calling for his immediate release “without any conditions”.
At the same time, Biden said, Washington simply cannot avoid cooperating with Moscow.
“Leadership through diplomacy must also mean engaging with our adversaries and rivals diplomatically when it is in our interest and contributes to the security of the American people. That is why the US and Russia agreed yesterday (February 3) to extend the START Treaty for five years in order to preserve the only remaining treaty between our countries that ensures nuclear stability”, – the president said.
Biden said the U.S. wanted to resolve all issues in world politics from a position of strength. And, as it turns out, the new US leadership sees China as its main adversary.
“We directly face challenges to our security, prosperity and democratic values from our most serious adversary – China. We will counter China’s economic misconduct, we intend to counter its aggressive actions, and we will fight back against attacks on human rights and intellectual property. But we are ready to work with China if it is in our interests.”
On military priorities, the US will review its military presence overseas.
“US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin will lead a global review of the deployment of our troops so that the US military presence is consistent with our foreign policy priorities and national security interests”, – Biden explained.
In particular, Washington is halting its troop withdrawal from Germany and withdrawing its support for the Arabian coalition’s combat operations in Yemen. The sale of US arms to Arab allies will also be affected.
“We are stepping up our diplomacy to end the war in Yemen. This war must end”, – the American leader said.
Nevertheless, the US will continue to help Saudi Arabia defend its sovereignty, territorial integrity and population against threats from “Iranian-backed forces”.
The issue of relations with Iran was not addressed by Biden. The same could be said of North Korea, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the situation in Syria and Afghanistan. He did refer to the military coup in Myanmar, but called on the military to give up power and release all the detainees, and threatened sanctions if they were not.