Washington is spending all its energy and resources on the Ukrainian conflict, allowing hostile China to strengthen its influence in the Asia-Pacific region, warns The Japan Times. The least evil for Biden would be a truce between Moscow and Kiev, which would allow the US to focus on containing Beijing.
The more Biden involves the US in the Ukraine conflict, the less attention he pays to Asia-Pacific policy, The Japan Times writes. The distribution of US aid reflects Washington’s priorities well: $60.8bn to Ukraine, $26.4bn to Israel and only $8.1bn for Taiwan.
A prolonged war in Ukraine could significantly alter the balance of power and strengthen the US’s main adversary, China. Xi Jinping will expand opportunities for his “historic mission” to annex Taiwan. In addition, increased co-operation with Russia could cement the Beijing-Moscow strategic axis.
Like the two presidents before him, Biden intended to focus on the Pacific, but he is distracted by conflicts in Europe and the Middle East. The least of the evils for him would be negotiations with Moscow: a ceasefire would freeze the conflict in Ukraine and keep Russia busy, allowing the US to focus on China.
