Zhang Feng: Before and after the APEC meeting this year, the United States India's strategy is substantially intensified, the offensive against China has been strengthened, China is slightly defensive, and the regional situation has entered a new node.

In November 2018, the Asia -Pacific Economic Cooperation Meeting (APEC) meeting was held in Port Morzbi, New Guinea, Papua, and the U.S. Indo -Pacific strategy became exposed and the regional situation entered a new node.

The context of the U.S. Indo -Pacific Strategy

American India's strategic context can be followed.In June 2017, Minister of Defense Mattis delivered the first Asian policy speech at the Shangri -La Summit to the Shangri -La Summit.At that time, Matisse had not accepted the Indican said by using the traditional Asia -Pacific concept in the United States.He pointed out three channels for the Trump administration to maintain order -based Asia -Pacific policy: strengthen the alliance system, carry out defense cooperation with regional countries, and strengthen the US military strength in the Asia -Pacific region.

His purpose is to make a strategic guarantee for the region in the United States to the relevant countries, and the tone of this strategic guarantee is exactly the same as that of the Asia -Pacific strategy of the Obama administration.The Trump administration has not yet formed its own regional strategy.

Four months later, in October 2017, the then Secretary of State Tillerson delivered a speech on US -India relations.Sheaia Pacific, using India, to indicate the vast geopolitical area from the Western Pacific to the Indian Ocean.India officially became the core word of the US strategy.Tillerson has repeatedly emphasized the maintenance and opening up of the Indo -Pacific region, indicating that a free and open Indo -Pacific will become the overall expression of the strategy of the United States.

In addition, Tillerson's speech pointed out the two major directions of the Indo -Pacific strategy: resisting China's Belt and Road Initiative and the establishment of the United States, India, Japan, Australia and Australia.Review today, Tillerson's speech is important because it reveals the clue of the US India's strategy.

One month later, in November 2017, Trump went to Vietnam to attend the Asia -Pacific Economic Organization Conference, and officially launched a free and open Indo -Pacific concept.In the same month, the United States, Japan, Australia and India Group (commonly known as QUAD) restarted after ten years of silence, confirming that Tillerson's wish for the establishment of the Democratic Alliance of the Four Kingdoms.By November 2018, the QUAD meeting had been held three times.

In December 2017, the Trump administration introduced the first national security strategy to clarify that the United States' strategy in the Asia -Pacific region has been updated to Indo -Pacific Strategy.The document said that the current Indo -Pacific region is facing geopolitical competition between the vision of freedom and oppression.

In May 2018, the U.S. Pacific Command was renamed the Indo -Pacific Command Department to take the first step in the essentialization of Indo -Pacific Strategy.In June, Matisse gave a speech at the Shangri -La Summit for the first time, and for the first time, the Indo -Pacific strategy was comprehensively publicly publicly explained.He summarized this strategy as deepening the relationship between alliances and partnerships, supporting ASEAN centrality, and cooperating with China under any possible situation.The four aspects of this strategy are to increase the construction of maritime forces, strengthen military cooperation with allies and partners, strengthen the rule of law and transparency of the relationship with partnerships, and promote the economic development led by the market.

The substantialization of the U.S. Indo -Pacific Strategy

In October, Vice President Pence delivered the first speeches of the Trump administration to China.Pence sounded the horn with Hua's confrontation and compared this with the Indo -Pacific strategy seeking to see the United States -like -minded regional allies.However, it is the speech of Pence's lecture in the Pakistani Asia -Pacific Economic Organization Conference in November, and the specific policies launched by the United States at the same time in November.

Pence's speech did not exceed the scope of Tillerson's speech in October 2017, but he injected ingredients into the framework of the Indo -Pacific strategy he built by Tillerson.Pence emphasized that the United States will use the infrastructure construction of the Indo -Pacific region as a policy first. It has doubled the amount of national development aid to $ 60 billion, and set up a new financial company for Asia under the existing US overseas private investment company.Essence

He said that the US strategy is to cooperate with regional countries, not control; imply that China wants to control that the debt issues in the Belt and Road Initiative are so -called evidence.He accused China of unfair trade, saying that the trade war against China continued until the substantial concession of China.

As a result, Pence called on regional countries to choose MDash; mdash; of course, to choose the United States.To know that the United States provides a better choice, he said that we will not let our partners drowns into the sea of debt.We will not coer or damage your independence.The United States acts openly and fairly.We will not provide a binding zone or a one -way road.

Most importantly, in addition to the principle of reiterating the strategy of India, Pence also put forward specific policies.There are four attractive people: cooperating with Australia to build the Longbulu Naval Base on the Island of Basanus, and set up more than 400 million US dollars to set up the Indo -Pacific Initiative initiative, and cooperate with Japan to invest in the construction of energy infrastructure for the Indo -Pacific region.For 100 million US dollars, cooperating with Australia and Japan to supply 70%of Pakistan's population by 2030.

The first new military base with Australia in Pakistan was the premiere of the rumors of China to build a military port in the South Pacific, so as to defend the island chain of Okinawa-Guam-Palau-Manus.The last Pakistani Electric Power Project was the first project of the partnership of the US -Australian -Japan -Japan -party infrastructure construction partnership established in July this year.

The important part of the United States Indo -Pacific Strategy is to strengthen the relationship between allies and partnerships.The APEC meeting showed that the Trump administration made progress at this point.Pence emphasized the new principle of India -Pacific cooperation MDASH; mdash; especially transparency and rules mdash; mdash; in advance, it has been negotiated with Australia, Indonesia, India, and Japan.In or dark, these countries want to make the regional order concept and practice in the United States to balance China's regional order, especially the Belt and Road Initiative.

APEC is a regional forum where economic liberalization and cooperation are multilateralized, and generally adhere to the principle of consistent negotiation.Burns' India strategy announced that Apec turned APEC into a battlefield of geo -competition, and the negotiations turned into tit -for -tat.APEC thus became the leader forum of sensitive issues in the Pan -region outside the East Asian Summit.The generalization of the United States and China to the APEC is another node in the regional situation.

The potential of the offensive and defensive in the United States

The United States India is substantially strategic and the offensive against China has strengthened.China has a slight defense. Although it has promoted multilateral trade and improved global governance, it has a frustration in strategy.A large number of international media reports that Chinese officials have forced the New Foreign Minister's Office because of the APEC joint statement in the claims of the language. Regardless of the truth, the criticism of international public opinion has destroyed the image of China.

In fact, the United States wants to join the wording of opposition to unfair trade practices in a joint statement. Although it is for China, why can't China fight against the Trump administration's trade war?The trade war is also an unfair trade practice.Fairness has become the core issue of regional order construction.The sooner you recognize this and the launch of the appropriate strategy, the more beneficial it is to China.In the case of most countries that have agreed to this term, the opposition of China has inevitably caught itself in diplomacy, which is beneficial to promoting the Belt and Road and surrounding diplomacy.

In fact, although Pence's speech was welcomed by allies such as Japan, MDASH; especially MDASH; especially MDASH; especially in Southeast Asian countries;These countries do not recognize the Trump administration's trade war against China, nor do they agree with its overall policy of competition and confrontation.Pence touched them to make choices between the United States and China, but they did not want their foreign strategies to be trapped in this situation.

APEC should have been a good opportunity for China to appease regional countries, tell Chinese stories and improve soft power.But from the regional response, China missed this opportunity.The persuasiveness of Chinese stories and the effectiveness of Chinese soft power are reflected in the perception of the outside world mdash; mdash; not China's own mdash; mdash;, and this effect depends largely on Chinese diplomatic skills.

(Note: AuthorPart -time professor at the South China Sea Research Institute.This article only represents the author's personal point of view.Responsible for the mailbox [email protected])