US kating team in China Image credit US ambassador in China Nicholas Burns
By Manish Anand
New Delhi, January 30: The US ambassador in Beijing Nicholas Burns announced the arrival of a delegation of 18 athletes to Shanghai for the ‘ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championship’. The skaters are likely replacements of the ‘Ping Pong diplomacy’ of the last century as the US and China work behind the doors to repair the strained relationships.
The US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan had held a meeting with Chinese Communist Party Politburo Member, Director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission, and Foreign Minister Wang Yi last week. The two top officials in matters of security had held deliberations on geostrategic issues, including the Middle East tension.
The US military strength in the Middle East is being tested by the Yemen-based Houthi rebels. The disruption in the maritime trade in the Red Sea is seen as an outright challenge to the US supremacy in the international waters.
Besides, the Houthi rebels are alleged by the western powers to be backed by Iran. At the same time, Iran is testing the US strength also in Iraq by targeting several military installations. Iran has also tested the US assets in Pakistan by carrying out drone attacks in Baluchistan to kill several alleged terrorists.
The strategic affairs commentators are linking up the Wang-Sullivan confabulations to the military stress being felt by the US on account of Iran. The experts argue that the US is hoping that China will exert its influence on Iran to buy respite for Washington in the Middle East as President Joe Biden wouldn’t risk losing military personnel with presidential elections only a few months away.
The visible urgency on the part of the US to mend ties with China is seen in Beijing rushing to consolidate its growing influence in the Pacific Ocean. Reuters reported that Papua New Guinea may soon wrap up a security deal with China. The news agency attributed Foreign Minister Justin Tkachenko of Papua New Guinea stating that the largest island nation in the Pacific is weighing the Chinese offer to train and skill its security personnel. China had earlier expressed concerns at the riots which had taken a toll of over a dozen people while affecting operations in the port cities.
Papua New Guinea (PNG) had previously maintained that Australia and the US are its security partners. China, which was an economic partner, now seeks to become a security partner to extend similar deals with several of the Pacific island nations.
Derek Grossman, a strategic affairs expert, posted on the social media platform X, saying that the development in Papua New Guinea is “just a friendly reminder to US policymakers that Papua New Guinea is assiduously non-aligned. The US defense cooperation agreement with PNG, inked last year, will now be balanced out by a Chinese deal.”
Wang-Sullivan meeting readout had also stated that the US and China are “committed to maintain this strategic channel of communication and to pursue additional high-level diplomacy and consultations in key areas between the United States and the People’s Republic of China, including through a call between President Biden and President Xi.” This assumes significance because the US is largely being predicted to launch strikes against the Iranian targets in the next few days in a likely escalation of tension in the Middle East.
Another security analyst Rajan Menon too underlined the apparent bowing of the US before China on account of the Middle East tension. Menon wrote on the social media platform X: “If it’s Chinese diplomacy rather than US attacks against the Houthis that persuades the latter to halt their strikes on shipping in the Red Sea, Beijing will come out of this crisis as the winner.”
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