HONG KONG, July 31 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has made his 18th trip to the Asia-Pacific region since taking office. His latest visit has once again stoked anxiety in the region by exaggerating the "China threat" as an excuse to further expand America's regional military presence.
On Sunday, the United States and Japan commenced their "2+2" security meeting involving bilateral foreign and defense ministers. The allies agreed to upgrade the U.S. military command structure in Japan to improve joint military operations and expand the co-production of air defense missiles.
Japan, a nation that has yet to officially apologize for its war atrocities to victim countries, including neighboring China and South Korea, hosts 50,000 U.S. troops and has been seeking to abandon its pacifist Constitution to acquire preemptive strike capacity.
Analysts said that Washington is encouraging Japan to enhance its offensive military capabilities and expand the scope of overseas military activities, positioning it a counterbalance against China.
However, if Japan's progression toward becoming a military power accelerates further, fueled by its significant accumulation of military technology and manufacturing infrastructure, it could fundamentally disrupt the strategic stability of the Asia-Pacific region.
On Monday, the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, known as the QUAD, comprising the United States, Japan, India, and Australia, held a meeting in Tokyo. The participants expressed significant concerns over the situation in the South China Sea despite not being directly involved parties.
Experts said the South China Sea issue remains complex, lacks simple resolutions and has been distorted. They caution against external interventions that could escalate tensions.
Kin Phea, director general of the International Relations Institute of Cambodia, a think tank under the Royal Academy of Cambodia, stressed that outside countries must respect the sovereignty of the involved parties and refrain from interfering in the South China Sea issue.
External countries like the United States and Japan seek conflict, not peace. Kin said both have failed to play any constructive role in the South China Sea and are attempting to halt China's rise by containing and encircling it.
On Tuesday, Blinken and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited the Philippines for the U.S.-Philippines "2+2" talks, the fourth such dialogue since it began in 2012.
Anna Malindog-Uy, vice president of the Manila-based think tank Asian Century Philippines Strategic Studies Institute, told Xinhua that "obviously, the U.S.-Philippine '2+2' dialogue and the U.S.-Japan talks are intended to strengthen U.S. alliances and partnerships with its allies in the Asia Pacific region. The dialogues are significant steps by Washington in bolstering military and diplomatic ties."
Malindog-Uy said that the "U.S. strengthening of military, defense, and security ties with its traditional allies in the region is, in many ways, part of the broader geared toward and catering to U.S. containment policy toward China."
Since last year, the United States has beefed up its military presence in the Philippines, with four more new military bases for U.S. troops and 80 million U.S. dollars in infrastructure investment at the five Filipino bases used by the United States.
The two sides also held their largest-ever annual joint military drills in April, involving more than 16,700 Philippine and U.S. troops. The U.S. Army's Mid-Range Capability ground-based missile system, or the Typhon system, was also deployed for the first time in the Philippines during the war game.
"The U.S. approach focused on security and defense networks and reinforcing its alliances with key regional partners to counterbalance China, creating a tension-driven Asia Pacific region. An increased focus on military alliances can lead to an arms race and heightened tensions," said Malindog-Uy, adding that relying on U.S. security guarantees can limit the Philippines' strategic autonomy in the short and long run.
Xiang Haoyu, a specially appointed research fellow in the Department for Asia-Pacific Studies of the China Institute of International Studies, said that the U.S. alliance system is forming a new "island chain" to deter China in the Western Pacific, with Japan and the Philippines playing a crucial role.
The United States relies on a series of "small groups" to build a network to geopolitically encircle China. Xiang said the security cooperation between the United States, Japan and the Philippines would only raise tensions in the South China Sea.
More reckless and provocative actions at sea will seriously undermine peace and stability in the South China Sea, Xiang said.
He added that the security cooperation between the United States, Japan and the Philippines against China would also increase the risk of fragmentation of ASEAN and undermine the regional bloc's unity and centrality.
The last thing regional countries need is military conflict and tension when they require economic growth and development. In this regard, the importance of trade for the region, which facilitates economic cooperation and creates a more prosperous and interconnected Asia-Pacific, where China plays a crucial role, is the clear choice by regional countries, said Malindog-Uy. ■