The United States, China and Japan squared off over maritime security at a regional summit on Wednesday, with U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida taking part in the online meeting for the first time since they took office.
The virtual gathering of the East Asia Summit took place as tensions between the United States and China have been intensifying recently over several issues in the Asia-Pacific region, such as the South and East China seas and the Taiwan Strait.
Biden’s participation in the meeting underscored that the United States has been keen to regain its influence in the region, while China has been trying to bolster relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Donald Trump, Biden’s predecessor who was absent from the regional summit for the fourth straight year during his tenure, drew criticism for his perceived lack of interest in Southeast Asia.
Meanwhile, the situation in Myanmar, in which political confusion has been lingering since the junta ousted the civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi, is expected to become one of the major agenda items at the East Asia Summit.
Claiming sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, Beijing has rapidly built artificial islands with military infrastructure in the maritime area.
China has conflicting territorial claims with four ASEAN members — Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam — as well as Taiwan in the sea, a strategic waterway through which more than one-third of global trade passes.
Beijing also claims the Senkakus, a group of uninhabited islets in the East China Sea administered by Japan. They are called Diaoyu in China.
Following the summit, Kishida, who became prime minister in early October, told reporters that he conveyed Japan’s “firm stance” on maritime security in the South and East China seas to leaders of other countries.
He added that he emphasized at the ASEAN-related summits that it is important to pay attention to China’s alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang, the crackdown on freedoms in Hong Kong and security challenges to Taiwan.
Kishida may have expressed concern over China’s frequent sending of coast guard ships near the Senkaku Islands despite Japan’s protests, foreign affairs experts say.
Japanese and U.S. political leaders have confirmed that Article 5 of the Japan-U.S. security treaty covers the islets, meaning the United States would defend Japan in the event of a conflict there.
As for Taiwan, Biden late last week said the United States is committed to defending the self-ruled democratic island if China mounts an attack on it, apparently contradicting Washington’s long-standing policy to keep its stance on the matter ambiguous.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin swiftly reacted to Biden’s remarks, saying, “No one should underestimate the Chinese people’s strong determination, firm will and strong ability to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
China and Taiwan have been governed separately since they split in 1949 as a result of a civil war. Relations have deteriorated since independence-leaning Tsai Ing-wen became Taiwan’s president in 2016. The mainland considers the island as a renegade province.
The East Asia Summit comprises ASEAN — which groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam — plus Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea and the United States.
Myanmar’s military leader, however, was excluded from the East Asia Summit after the junta refused to allow an ASEAN special envoy to meet with Suu Kyi and other opposition figures.
