Washington, Joe Biden's administration is working to break down silos between Europe, Asia and the United States, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday on the sidelines of the NATO summit here, involving the United States' partners in the Indo-Pacific: Australia, Japan. , South Korea and New Zealand, have also been invited to participate.
In fact, this is the third time in a row that the United States has invited its Indo-Pacific partners. It is a reflection of the fact that their theaters working together are linked.
"Perhaps this was crystallized in Ukraine, when Prime Minister (Fumio) Kishida of Japan said that what is happening today in Europe could be happening tomorrow in East Asia." When Russia committed its aggression, its renewed aggression against Ukraine, and Japan stood up, South Korea stood up, Australia, New Zealand, this was a reflection of that recognition that these challenges are linked. And when democracies stand together, whether they are in Europe, Asia or elsewhere, we will be stronger and more effective," Blinken said.
"So as we meet here in Washington with our Indo-Pacific partners, what this means is that we are breaking down the silos between Europe, Asia and the United States. This has been a very deliberate goal of President Biden from day one, no "We are not only building a convergence with our allies, a stronger convergence when it comes to how to approach Russia - and in a different way, how to approach China - but also breaking down the barriers, the walls between European partners and Asian partners," he added.
"What has happened just in the last year, year and a half, has only reinforced the imperative. We see, unfortunately, that China does not provide weapons to Russia to continue its aggression, but is the largest contributor to the industrial base "The machine tools that Russia imports come from China, 90 percent of the microelectronics that Russia uses comes from China and that has allowed it to maintain its aggression against Ukraine," Blinken said." We have seen a massive buildup of their weaponry over the last year and a half: tanks, missiles, ammunition. That's a product of a China-driven defense industrial base. As a result, European allies understand the challenge China poses to Europe's security. And, of course, China can't have it both ways," he said.
"You cannot be everything at the same time and pretend to be in favor of peace and want to have better relations with Europe, and at the same time fuel what is arguably the most important threat to European security since the end of the Cold War .
"We see it in the relationship between Russia and North Korea. That is very clear. In all of these areas, as well as in some of the hybrid threats that you alluded to earlier, the connections are increasingly clear. The alliance (NATO ) "It's a place, and perhaps, I would say, a central place, where we can bring everyone together to act together," said the top American diplomat. The United States, he said, is focusing on China in two ways.
"First, we are making investments in ourselves at home to ensure that we approach China from a position of internal strength. When you look at everything that has happened in the last three and a half years with the incredible investments, in our own infrastructure ( our roads, our bridges, our communications) through the Infrastructure Act, when we look at our commitment to make sure we maintain our leadership, our global leadership in microelectronics, in chips through the CHIPS and Science Act, when we. "We look at the investments that have been made in climate technology, which will be a fundamental part of the 21st century economy, which puts the United States in a position of strength, European allies are doing exactly the same thing," he said.
"But the other aspect of this is not only, as we have done, revitalizing our alliances and partnerships starting with Europe, but also ensuring that there is increasing convergence in our approach to some of the challenges posed by China." I think that if we look at what NATO has said in the Strategic Concept, if we look at what the key Europeans have said, what the European Union has said, it is very clear that we now have more convergence in terms of how address China that we have never had and that is a source of tremendous strength," he said.
Blinken said it means that instead of one country having to deal with challenges alone (the United States accounts for perhaps 20 percent of global GDP), suddenly 40, 50 and Asian partners, 60 percent of the World GDP.
"That makes a big difference. And precisely because these challenges are linked, addressing some of the problems raised by China requires this work, alignment and convergence with Europe and Asia," he said.
In fact, this is the third time in a row that the United States has invited its Indo-Pacific partners. It is a reflection of the fact that their theaters working together are linked.
"Perhaps this was crystallized in Ukraine, when Prime Minister (Fumio) Kishida of Japan said that what is happening today in Europe could be happening tomorrow in East Asia." When Russia committed its aggression, its renewed aggression against Ukraine, and Japan stood up, South Korea stood up, Australia, New Zealand, this was a reflection of that recognition that these challenges are linked. And when democracies stand together, whether they are in Europe, Asia or elsewhere, we will be stronger and more effective," Blinken said.
"So as we meet here in Washington with our Indo-Pacific partners, what this means is that we are breaking down the silos between Europe, Asia and the United States. This has been a very deliberate goal of President Biden from day one, no "We are not only building a convergence with our allies, a stronger convergence when it comes to how to approach Russia - and in a different way, how to approach China - but also breaking down the barriers, the walls between European partners and Asian partners," he added.
"What has happened just in the last year, year and a half, has only reinforced the imperative. We see, unfortunately, that China does not provide weapons to Russia to continue its aggression, but is the largest contributor to the industrial base "The machine tools that Russia imports come from China, 90 percent of the microelectronics that Russia uses comes from China and that has allowed it to maintain its aggression against Ukraine," Blinken said." We have seen a massive buildup of their weaponry over the last year and a half: tanks, missiles, ammunition. That's a product of a China-driven defense industrial base. As a result, European allies understand the challenge China poses to Europe's security. And, of course, China can't have it both ways," he said.
"You cannot be everything at the same time and pretend to be in favor of peace and want to have better relations with Europe, and at the same time fuel what is arguably the most important threat to European security since the end of the Cold War .
"We see it in the relationship between Russia and North Korea. That is very clear. In all of these areas, as well as in some of the hybrid threats that you alluded to earlier, the connections are increasingly clear. The alliance (NATO ) "It's a place, and perhaps, I would say, a central place, where we can bring everyone together to act together," said the top American diplomat. The United States, he said, is focusing on China in two ways.
"First, we are making investments in ourselves at home to ensure that we approach China from a position of internal strength. When you look at everything that has happened in the last three and a half years with the incredible investments, in our own infrastructure ( our roads, our bridges, our communications) through the Infrastructure Act, when we look at our commitment to make sure we maintain our leadership, our global leadership in microelectronics, in chips through the CHIPS and Science Act, when we. "We look at the investments that have been made in climate technology, which will be a fundamental part of the 21st century economy, which puts the United States in a position of strength, European allies are doing exactly the same thing," he said.
"But the other aspect of this is not only, as we have done, revitalizing our alliances and partnerships starting with Europe, but also ensuring that there is increasing convergence in our approach to some of the challenges posed by China." I think that if we look at what NATO has said in the Strategic Concept, if we look at what the key Europeans have said, what the European Union has said, it is very clear that we now have more convergence in terms of how address China that we have never had and that is a source of tremendous strength," he said.
Blinken said it means that instead of one country having to deal with challenges alone (the United States accounts for perhaps 20 percent of global GDP), suddenly 40, 50 and Asian partners, 60 percent of the World GDP.
"That makes a big difference. And precisely because these challenges are linked, addressing some of the problems raised by China requires this work, alignment and convergence with Europe and Asia," he said.
